�������ýҕ�l

Johnson & Johnson's talc saga may finally be nearing an end. The drugmaker on Tuesday said it’s offering $8.9 billion over 25 years to resolve all lawsuits claiming that the company’s talc-containing baby powders caused cancer. The deal proposal comes after years of litigation and a high profile, $2 billion verdict which J&J unsuccessfully appealed all the way to the Supreme Court. This settlement proposal could end what would otherwise take decades of legal proceedings, J&J’s vice president of litigation, Erik Haas, said in a statement Tuesday. It would also compensate the claimants “in a timely manner” while allowing J&J to focus on its business, Haas added. (Liu and Sagonowsky, 4/4)

Attorney Mikal Watts of Watts Guerra, a law firm that has been in negotiations with J&J since January, said the new settlement would be the “largest products liability settlement ever realized after a bankruptcy filing.” (Bhattacharya, 4/5)

Johnson & Johnson said that the settlement and bankruptcy filing did not mean it “has changed its longstanding position that its talcum powder products are safe.” The company has long denied claims that its products containing talc — a mineral used to absorb moisture — cause cancer. The company said the settlement is intended to “resolve all the current and future talc claims.” But for the settlement to come to fruition, the bankruptcy filing must be approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. (Pietsch, 4/5)

The J&J subsidiary, LTL Management, filed for bankruptcy protection late Tuesday for a second time with the intent to present a reorganization plan containing the proposed settlement to a judge as soon as May 14, the subsidiary said in a court filing. J&J said in a statement that about 60,000 talc claimants had agreed to the proposal. (Knauth andSpector, 4/4)