Lawyers for Ovarian Cancer Victims Urge NO Vote on J&J’s Latest Bankruptcy Plan
July 22 2024 - 11:59AM
Business Wire
Beasley Allen, Levin Papantonio, and coalition
of law firms cite misleading efforts to secure approval
Thousands of individuals who are being told they may be eligible
for quick and significant compensation from a proposed $6.5 billion
bankruptcy settlement offered by Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)
are being misled, according to other attorneys who represent
ovarian cancer victims.
“We believe there is an ongoing effort to attract approvals for
J&J’s third attempt at bankruptcy from those without a
documented and diagnosed claim of ovarian cancer,” says Andy
Birchfield of the Beasley Allen Law Firm.
“While individuals may have a gynecological illness or other
medical condition, we don’t believe those votes should be used as
part of a bankruptcy effort to coercively resolve ovarian cancer
claims linked to Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder. Other claims
may involve a serious condition, but we fear they are only being
used to stuff the ballot box.”
Under a pre-packaged bankruptcy, 75% of the plaintiffs or
creditors must approve the proposed plan before it can be filed.
Two previous bankruptcy plans filed by J&J and its affiliates
have been denied by the courts because they were filed in bad
faith.
Birchfield and attorneys from more than 50 law firms opposing
J&J’s voting scheme believe that the solicitation for “yes”
votes is being used to create a false basis for a bankruptcy that
could reduce payments to their clients, who have incurred
individual losses and expenses of $500,000 or more in battling the
disease.
“J&J is aware that the thousands of fantasy cases they are
submitting to bankruptcy make it almost impossible for actual
injured clients to recover,” says Mike Papantonio of Levin
Papantonio.
Employing an at-times desperate strategy, J&J has attacked
its former customers who have filed lawsuits, labeling them
“nameless” and “faceless.” “This is a profoundly insulting
statement to make about the very customers who trusted the
company,” says Birchfield. “Thousands of women – mothers, sisters,
daughters, aunts & cousins, whose lives have been upended by
ovarian cancer linked to J&J’s talc products.”
Video: Victims Speak Out
Scores of women have described their pain in videos as they have
battled ovarian cancer and opposed the bankruptcy plan on
principle.
“These are real people who have suffered solely because of the
deceit of Johnson & Johnson,” says Richard Golomb of Golomb
Legal. “Under J&J’s plan, there is no basis to know how much a
client would be paid or when, but it’s logical that accepting an
extraordinarily large number of claims would reduce the benefit
available to all.
“A few thousand dollars is not justifiable for an individual
with a legitimate and longstanding medical diagnosis of ovarian
cancer, but that’s what the math of this proposal
demonstrates.”
The deadline for voting to approve or decline the bankruptcy
proposal is 5 p.m. ET on July 26, 2024.
Attorneys opposing the J&J plan also note that approval
would take away all rights to a jury trial for current and future
ovarian cancer victims. Since 2016, juries have awarded
collectively more than $5.4 billion in compensatory and punitive
damages to ovarian cancer claimants. Although that total has been
subsequently reduced by courts at the trial and appellate level,
those reductions have not been based on the merits of the
underlying cases.
“We welcome any individuals and their attorneys to file claims,
with the required medical records and pathology reports, in the
ongoing multidistrict litigation for ovarian cancer cases,” says
Michelle Parfitt, co-lead counsel of the plaintiffs’ committee over
more than 50,000 plaintiffs whose claims were previously
consolidated in multidistrict litigation (MDL) in federal court.
“The MDL, and civil courts in general, still provide the most fair
and efficient means of trying and resolving these cases, with the
first bellwether trial scheduled for December.”
“Those trials have been delayed solely due to J&J’s
gamesmanship, desire to avoid trials, and repeated and unsuccessful
attempts to claim bankruptcy for a company valued at nearly $400
billion, says Leigh O’Dell, co-lead counsel of the plaintiffs’
committee in the MDL litigation. “It’s a scheme with direct
parallels to that attempted by Purdue Pharmaceuticals, which the
U.S. Supreme Court recently overturned.”
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Mike Androvett 800-559-4534 mike@androvett.com
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