2BInformed: Engaging with EPA, OSHA’s New Regulation, and Asbestos
Observers of filing trends in personal injury mesothelioma matters alleging exposure to talc contaminated with asbestos have noted that the bankruptcy filing of a predominant defendant in those matters did little to slow the...more
Court: U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware - Avon Products Inc., a U.S.-based “non-operational” holding company, announced Monday that it is seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to “address its debt and...more
On June 25, 2024, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals rendered an opinion affirming the New Jersey Bankruptcy Court’s decision to dismiss LTL Management/Johnson & Johnson’s second bankruptcy case for “want of good faith...more
The U.S. Supreme Court on June 6 unanimously held in Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Gypsum Company Inc. that insurers with financial responsibility for bankruptcy claims are a “party in interest” that may object to a...more
Last week’s Privilege Point described an opinion requiring a corporate party’s witness to disclose communications with his Latham & Watkins lawyers, because he confirmed with that firm his own “commercial understanding” about...more
The US Supreme Court ruled that an insurer with financial responsibility for bankruptcy claims is a “party in interest” under Bankruptcy Code §1109(b) that “may raise and may appear and be heard on any issue” in a Chapter 11...more
Companies faced with numerous mass tort claims, such as asbestos claims, often seek bankruptcy protection. Reorganization plans may include § 524(g) channeling injunctions in which insurance assets are put into a trust to pay...more
The Supreme Court of the United States issued three decisions today: Becerra v. San Carlos Apache Tribe, No. 23-250: This case concerns the funding the Indian Health Service (“IHS”) must provide to Indian tribes that...more
The Supreme Court reversed the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of insurance companies in a unanimous decision written by Justice Sotomayor. In short, the United States Supreme Court held today that insurers facing...more
Another Three-for Thursday at the Supreme Court, with none of the decisions a landmark but each of utmost relevance to legal specialists and technicians in the fields of bankruptcy, estate taxation, and Indian affairs....more
With more than two dozen jury trials scheduled over the next year involving contaminated talc claims related to its ubiquitous baby powder, discussions are already at Johnson & Johnson to puts its talc unit, LTL Management,...more
The United States Supreme Court agreed today to review a Fourth Circuit decision that denied an insurer standing to object to an asbestos producer’s Chapter 11 reorganization plan, on the basis that the insurer’s interests...more
Now that the United States Supreme Court has agreed to expeditiously hear the U.S. Trustee’s appeal of the plan confirmation and settlement in Purdue Pharma, lawyers following the LTL Management LLC bankruptcy case, version...more
For over a decade, talc litigation has been a staple of mass toxic tort practices around the country and persists today. For those who are unfamiliar, talc is a naturally occurring mineral rock mined from the Earth that can...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently approved injunctive relief as part of a strategy for settling mass tort claims through the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case of Bestwall LLC, an entity created by...more
Johnson & Johnson’s latest talcum powder litigation challenge exists in a New Jersey bankruptcy court where oral arguments concerning its proposed $8.9 billion settlement occurred during the final week of June 2023....more
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit - In 1965, Georgia-Pacific LLC (Old GP) merged with Bestwall Gypsum Company, a manufacturer of asbestos-containing products. In 2017, Georgia-Pacific LLC...more
On January 30, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit dismissed the talc bankruptcy filing of Johnson & Johnson’s subsidiary, LTL Management, LLC. After hearing arguments in September, the Third Circuit ultimately...more
On January 30, 2023, the Third Circuit dismissed Johnson & Johnson (J&J)’s subsidiary LTL’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition because the facts did not support the financial distress required for the entity’s good faith filing...more
Imerys Talc American, Inc. (“Imerys”) filed bankruptcy in response to crushing liability imposed by mounting asbestos and talc personal injury claims to take advantage of Bankruptcy Code § 524(g) which, among other things,...more
On September 19, 2022, a panel of three judges for the Third Circuit heard oral argument in In re LTL Management LLC, Case No. 22-2003. Before the Court is Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) use of Chapter 11 to resolve...more
Unlike professionals retained in a chapter 11 case by trustees, debtors, or official committees, the Bankruptcy Code provides little guidance regarding the appointment of a representative for "future claimants" in a chapter...more
A subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee heard from bankruptcy experts and those affected directly by mass tort Chapter 11 cases about their concerns over the corporate machinations that allow some large corporations...more
Pump manufacturer Nash Engineering Company appears to have recently become the latest casualty of asbestos litigation. On October 19, 2021, Nash Engineering filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court...more
When there are large numbers of substantial individual tort claims against a debtor, potentially involving claimants unknowable to the debtor who themselves may not know they have a claim, the bankruptcy process faces special...more