By Brian Mann | 21 October 2021
NPR — Johnson & Johnson is drawing criticism after using a controversial bankruptcy maneuver to block roughly 38,000 lawsuits linked to claims that its talc baby powder was contaminated with cancer-causing asbestos.
The health products giant used a quirk of Texas state law to spin off a new company called LTL, then dumped all its asbestos-related liabilities — including the avalanche of lawsuits — into the new firm.
LTL filed for bankruptcy last week in a federal court in Charlotte, N.C., a move designed to sharply limit efforts to recover damages for those who say they were harmed by J&J’s baby powder.
“Johnson & Johnson doesn’t have this liability anymore. They pushed all of it into the company they created just to file for bankruptcy,” said Lindsey Simon, a bankruptcy expert at the University of Georgia School of Law.
As a result, Simon said, “consumers can’t recover [damages] against a big solvent company. They have to recover against this smaller fictional company created [by J&J].” […]
They make the laws and know the loopholes. Anyway, that loophole should be challenged as fraudulent and J&J should remain liable. Freemasons will protect each other.