J&J to go ahead with $6.5 billion settlement in baby powder lawsuit

NEW YORK: Johnson & Johnson said on Wednesday it is moving forward with a $6.48 billion proposed settlement of tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging that its baby powder and other talc products contain asbestos and cause ovarian cancer.

The deal would allow it to resolve the lawsuits through a third bankruptcy filing of a subsidiary company.

It will begin a three month voting period in hopes of reaching consensus on a settlement of all current and future ovarian cancer claims. Those claims account for 99% of the talc-related lawsuits filed against J&J, including about 54,000 lawsuits that are centralised in a New Jersey federal court proceeding.


J&J said it is confident that the deal will reach a 75% support threshold needed for a bankruptcy settlement that would end the litigation entirely, shutting off future lawsuits.