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 Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi, chairman of the U.S. House of
Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform's subcommittee on
economic and consumer policy, wrote that the panel is trying to
learn how J&J's plans may affect people who have said they were
harmed by the company's baby powder.
Krishnamoorthi also asked J&J to turn over documents showing how
much funding it would provide to the new entity. The level of
funding could determine payouts for victims.
Reuters reported this month
https://www.reuters.com/business/
healthcare-pharmaceuticals/exclusive-jj-exploring-putting-talc-liabilities-into-bankruptcy-sources-2021-07-18
that J&J is exploring a plan to offload liabilities it faces from
baby powder litigation into a new company, which would then file for
bankruptcy.
The healthcare company faces legal actions from tens of thousands of
plaintiffs, including women suffering from ovarian cancer and others
with mesothelioma, alleging that its baby powder and other talc
products contained asbestos and caused cancer.
"Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc has not decided on any particular
course of action in this litigation other than to continue to defend
the safety of talc and litigate these cases in the tort system, as
the pending trials demonstrate," the company said in a statement.
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 The statement did not address
the subcommittee's request for documents.
The House subcommittee held hearings on
carcinogens in baby powder in 2019 and has heard
from people suffering from mesothelioma and
ovarian cancer.
Separately, plaintiff attorneys filed a fresh
legal challenge intended to prevent J&J from
pursuing a bankruptcy for its baby powder
liabilities.
They asked a Delaware judge overseeing a
separate bankruptcy involving J&J's talc
supplier, Imerys, to prohibit the maneuver,
arguing it would evade obligations J&J has to
Imerys, according to court documents filed on
Wednesday.
A J&J spokesperson did not respond to questions
about the legal challenge.
(Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in New York and
Dan Levine in San Francisco; Editing by Matthew
Lewis and Will Dunham)
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