Johnson & Johnson’s LTL: Talc committee appeals dismissal decision

By Sarah Lizee

Olympia, Wash., March 11 – The official committee of talc claimants for Johnson & Johnson subsidiary LTL Management LLC’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case appealed Thursday to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey’s decision to keep the company’s case open.

As previously reported, a handful of dismissal motions were filed with the court since the company’s entry into Chapter 11, one of which came from the talc committee. The court denied the motions in late February.

“The court is aware that its decision today will be met with much angst and concern,” judge Michael B. Kaplan said in an opinion. “Nonetheless, the matter before the court is so much more than an academic exercise or public policy debate. These issues impact real lives.”

Kaplan said the court remains steadfast in its belief that justice will best be served by expeditiously providing critical compensation through a court-supervised, fair and less costly settlement trust arrangement.

During closing arguments of a trial held Feb. 14 through Feb. 18, the U.S. trustee suggested that if the case were not dismissed, the court should consider the appointment of a Chapter 11 trustee.

Kaplan said the record does not support a finding of the debtor’s prepetition or post-petition malfeasance, or other cause warranting the appointment of a Chapter 11 trustee and the attendant costs. But, he agreed that there is a need for independent scrutiny of possible claims while the case progresses through the appointment of a future talc claims representative, mediation and towards the plan formulation process.

Johnson & Johnson is a consumer products company based in New Brunswick, N.J. The LTL Management subsidiary filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Oct. 14 under case number 21-30589.

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