Courts, Congress Likely to Stand in Way of J&J’s Third Texas Two-Step Plan
“The third time will not be the charm for J&J,” says Andy Birchfield, head of the Mass Torts Litigation Section at the Beasley Allen Law Firm, who has been instrumental in helping to foil the first two attempts at bankruptcy by the half-trillion-dollar company. “Recent developments in the courts and in Congress should convince J&J to abandon its strategy and act as a responsible corporation by providing truly fair and reasonable compensation in a non-coercive resolution.”
On Thursday, the
Earlier this week, a bipartisan group of congressional lawmakers led by Sen. Josh
“Johnson & Johnson has brought this legislative action upon itself by flouting the law and arrogantly pushing a failed strategy,” says Leigh O’Dell, co-lead counsel for consolidated multidistrict litigation. “The courts and Congress are saying that J&J is not entitled to use the powerful tools of bankruptcy to strip away the rights of cancer victims.”
Friday July 26 is the deadline for talc claimants to approve or reject a third J&J bankruptcy attempt. A settlement plan aimed at ending the litigation must receive
“For J&J to lose this vote would be akin to Vladimir Putin losing a Russian election,” says Mr. Birchfield. “J&J controls the ballot. J&J determines who can vote and all the rules for voting. J&J controls the agent that counts the ballots and determines which votes will be counted and which ones will be discarded. And this is all done without court supervision.
“However, there is a vast difference between winning the vote through ballot stuffing and succeeding with a bankruptcy plan. This will be J&J’s third attempt to use bankruptcy to shirk its responsibility for its asbestos-laden talc-based baby powder. The egregiousness of J&J’s scheme to use bankruptcy to evade accountability and cap its liability has prompted bipartisan congressional action with a bill that would curb the abuse of J&J’s Texas Two Step.”
Beasley Allen is one of the country’s leading civil litigation firms, holding several national records for verdicts and settlements.
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Mike Androvett
mike@androvett.com
214-507-5456
Source: Beasley Allen Law Firm