Court: United States Bankruptcy Court, District of New Jersey

On December 16, 2022, LTL Management LLC, formerly known as Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc., filed a complaint against Dr. Jacqueline Moline (expert for the plaintiffs’ bar in asbestos litigation) in the United States Bankruptcy Court, District of New Jersey. 

In this action, LTL generally seeks to recover damages for “knowing and repeated disparagement of Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower by Dr. Jacqueline Moline.” More specifically, the complaint pleads (I) Injurious Falsehood / Product Disparagement, (II) Fraud and (III) Violation of Lanham Act § 43(a), 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a).  

LTL’s claims against Dr. Moline include a number of alleged wrongdoings focusing on (i) her 2019 published article – Mesothelioma Associated with the Use of Cosmetic Talc – claiming that 33 individuals who used talc powder and developed the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma had no other potential exposures to asbestos and (ii) the recent decision in Bell v. Am. Int’l Indus. et al., No. 1:17-CV-00111 (M.D.N.C. Sept. 13, 2022), ECF No. 398 at 4, 17, 22. 

Read the full Complaint here.