Johnson & Johnson, Talc and Baby Powder

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Johnson & Johnson has proposed to pay $8.9 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits across North America that claim its baby powder and other talc-based products cause cancer

The settlement amount is way more than the $2 billion proposed by the healthcare giant earlier

The agreement follows an appeals court ruling in January invalidating J&J’s controversial “Texas two-step” bankruptcy manoeuvre, in which it sought to offload the talc liability onto a subsidiary that immediately filed for bankruptcy

The J&J subsidiary, LTL Management, filed for bankruptcy protection late on Tuesday for a second time with the intent to present a reorganisation plan containing the proposed settlement to a judge as soon as May 14