Johnson & Johnson proposes $5.5 billion talc settlement to end marathon legal fight - AP News

Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $5.5 billion to resolve remaining lawsuits alleging its talc products caused ovarian cancer, capping a legal battle that has run for more than a decade.
The settlement is contingent on at least 95% of remaining claimants agreeing to participate, and structures payments with an initial installment of no more than $3 billion next year and no further payments due until 2028.
The proposal follows a U.S. bankruptcy court judge's rejection last year of a $9 billion settlement offered by company subsidiary Red River Talc, which would have ranked among the largest mass tort settlements in history; J&J chose not to appeal and continued fighting in court instead.
A federal judge last week ordered plaintiffs to explain why their remaining talc claims should not be dismissed after witnesses could not establish a direct link between the product and cancer, a development the company cited in its statement.
Erik Haas, J&J's worldwide vice president of litigation, said the court's order left plaintiffs unable to present causation evidence that "does not exist," and framed the settlement as a way for the company to move past the matter and focus on developing medicines and devices, while asserting confidence it would have prevailed in further litigation.
J&J noted it had previously settled roughly 95% of filed mesothelioma lawsuits, all state consumer protection claims, and all talc-supplier disputes; shares of the New Brunswick, New Jersey-based company rose more than 2% before Tuesday's market open.