OAN’s James Meyers
10:35 AM – Wednesday, June 12, 2024
Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $700 million to settle an investigation by 42 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. into its marketing of baby powder and other talc-based products blamed for allegedly causing cancer.
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The agreed to settlement resolves charges that Johnson & Johnson misled consumers on its products, which it sold for over 100 years before stopping.
However, J&J did not admit wrongdoing in settling with the states, which were led by Florida, North Carolina and Texas. The company also said its talc products are safe and do not cause cancer.
“This is a major advancement for consumer product safety,” Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said in a statement.
Meanwhile, J&J still faces tens of thousands of talc lawsuits, and a class action accusing the company of fraudulently hiding their dangers from shareholders.
As of March 31st, about 61,490 were still suing J&J over talc. Most of the lawsuits were women with ovarian cancer, while a smaller number had mesothelioma, which is a type of cancer linked to asbestos.
Additionally, J&J stopped selling talc-based baby powder globally in 2023, switching to corn starch as the main ingredient. The New Jersey Based company has tried to resolve the litigation twice by placing into bankruptcy a subsidiary it created to contain its talc liabilities, but multiple courts rebuffed both attempts.
On May 1st, J&J proposed a $6.48 billion settlement to resolve most of the litigation by placing into bankruptcy a subsidiary it created a third bankruptcy filing. It has set aside an $11 billion reserve to cover all talc liabilities.
“The company continues to pursue several paths to achieve a comprehensive and final resolution of the talc litigation,” Erik Haas, J&J worldwide vice president of litigation, said in a statement on Tuesday.
“We will continue to address the claims of those who do not want to participate in our contemplated consensual bankruptcy resolution through litigation or settlement,” he added.
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