Weekly Mass Torts Bulletin 2021-Aug-30

Illinois State Court Judge Issues Contempt Order Against J&J

Illinois judge held Johnson & Johnson (J&J) in contempt on July 26, Monday, as one of the company's executives refused to reappear before the court to testify in the ongoing talcum powder trial.

According to the court documents, the plaintiff alleged that his sister died in 2016 from ovarian cancer caused by talc exposure.

Earlier, J&J's executive appeared before the court to testify in the trial but refused to reappear for cross-examination. Attorneys for J&J claim that the company informed the court beforehand that the executive will not be able to attend the court in person and will be available via video-conference. The state court judge rejected the company's request of arranging a video conference trial and announced that the company and the executive were in contempt of the court.

The trial will not have any impact on the other pending Baby Powder lawsuits and Shower-to-Shower lawsuits from women across the country. All the lawsuits claim similar allegations that the talc products of J&J caused ovarian cancer to the women.

The company is already being hit with several billion in damages in the lawsuits after the evaluation of evidence by the juries.

J&J will face the first federal talcum powder trial in April 2022. U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson is overseeing all the talcum powder lawsuits in the District of New Jersey, where all the lawsuits are consolidated under an MDL.

Group Of Black Women Sue J&J Over Baby Powder

A national group of black women has sued Johnson & Johnson (J&J), alleging that the company illicitly marketed its talcum baby powder even after knowing that it contains cancer-causing harmful ingredients.

The lawsuit is filed in the Superior Court of New Jersey by the National Council of Negro Women or NCNW. The lawsuit alleges that the baby powder caused ovarian cancer among the members of the organization who used the product for decades. The complaint even states that J&J deliberately marketed the baby powder to black women as they were more likely to use the product regularly.

J&J is blamed for not providing adequate warning about the defect of the products and marketing it illicitly for profit. The lawsuit does not stipulate a specific amount that could be penalized on the company. The attorney for the plaintiffs informed that the lawsuit would give justice to all the affected women who are suffering from the painful disease of ovarian cancer.

The company denied all the allegations by stating that its products do not cause cancer, and the company never targeted a specific community with bad intentions.

J&J sold the talc-based powder for more than a century before recalling 33,000 bottles in 2019 and discontinuing its sale in May 2020 throughout the United States and Canada.

J&J's baby powder is among the popular talc products throughout the U.S. which are linked to causing ovarian cancer. A study conducted where a cancer tissue was examined using an electron microscope found talc in it, which supported the claim that the baby powder causes cancer.

It is estimated, over the past 25 years, 12,000 women and their families have sued J&J, alleging that the talc powder causes ovarian cancer. Numerous studies conclude that J&J's talcum powder contains asbestos which is harmful to human health and can cause lifelong ailments.

J&J is also involved in settling opioid lawsuits along with three major pharmaceutical distributors, Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen. J&J and the distributors will pay $26 billion as per the announced deal.

Purdue's Former President Denies Responsibility For Opioid Crisis

Purdue Pharma's former president and board chair of the company claimed that he, his family, and the company are not responsible for the opioid crisis throughout the United States.

As per the court documents, every family member has denied the ill-practices of the company in terms of opioids even after being found guilty twice in opioid-related suits.

The ex-chairman has not been a part of any public forum apart from a video he gave in a 2015 lawsuit. He denied the allegations post his son's testimony in the court that states the family would not accept any settlement without guarantees of immunity in further lawsuits.

As per the Maryland Assistant Attorney General Brian Edmunds, the ex-chairman was questioned for more than three hours, and his common answer for most of the questions was that he did not recall anything.

The company was bought by the ex-chairman's father nearly 70 years ago. The former president even said that he did not recall any sales strategies that were approved by the company. He even added that he even does not recall if he had paid a part of the Oklahoma settlement on his own, where the family contributed  $75 million.

The former president did not answer any of the questions appropriately; instead, he asked more questions as informed by Edmunds.

As per a study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been over 500,000 deaths in the U.S. because of opioid overdose.

Earlier a settlement of up to $24.9 million was approved by the Lucas County commissioners in the statewide opioid lawsuits against the distributors and manufacturers.

Many municipalities across the state have joined the OneOhio plan that is focused on distributing funds to local jurisdictions from the National Prescription Opioid Litigation settlement, and Lucas County is one of them. The plan will ensure that each township and city within Lucas County will receive fair compensation. $809 million has been allotted to the state of Ohio from the national settlement of opioids.

AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson are the three major companies that will pay the amount of the settlement to the county. The attorney representing the county said that Lucas County is to receive between $4.5 million and $6.4 million to deal with opioid-related issues.

The amount will completely depend on the number of Ohio municipalities signing the agreement. The settlement is calculated considering the number of diagnosed opioid use disorders and deaths in the jurisdiction.

The attorney for the county even informed that a 29-member nonprofit foundation board of the county would vote to decide the best way to spend 55 percent of the settlement amount to address the opioid crisis.

The settlement would not bring the lost lives back, but it will surely help to control the further opioid crisis and deal with the currently affected users, said the attorney for the county. The board president of the nonprofit foundation said that the amount is huge, but splitting the settlement for 18 years is the best way to compensate the affected users, counties, and municipalities.

The attorney even informed that Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is also a part of the national opioid litigation, but it is not liable for this portion of the settlement.

Earlier, Connecticut's attorney general has committed to getting $300 million for the state from the $26 billion opioid settlement offered by the pharmaceutical distributors and drugmaker Johnson & Johnson (J&J).

Attorney General William Tong wrote in a letter informing about how the settlement amount will fund strategies, initiatives and programs. It will help the states, victims and their families to overcome the opioid crisis.

Some advocates and politicians have objected to depositing the settlement amount in the state’s general fund. They showed concern considering the misuse of the millions of dollars received by the state every year in the 1998 Big Tobacco settlement for smoking prevention and cessation.

Connecticut will receive $300 million over the next 18 years, as per the agreement. The state will get $26 million for the initial three years, and a varied sum of amount will be allotted for the next fifteen years. Pharmaceutical distributors McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen, along with J&J, will pay the amount.

Municipalities and the state signing on the agreement will get 85% and 15% respectively from the settlement amount allotted to Connecticut. 70% of the allotted funds to the state will be used for controlling future crisis whereas 15% will be used for general abatement measures. The amount will also cover the attorney's fees.

Last year, opioid overdose claimed 1,400 lives in Connecticut and 93,000 lives throughout the nation.

J&J even face several lawsuits over its talcum powder products, with nationwide women alleging the company's baby powder of causing ovarian cancer. 12,00 women and their families have filed lawsuits against the company in the past 25 years with similar allegations of cancer-causing ingredients in the talc products.

New Jersey Might Receive $600 Million Opioid Settlement

Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck of New Jersey announced that the state is looking forward to join the opioid settlement agreements against Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and the three largest opioid distributors McKesson, Cardinal Health, and AmerisourceBergen.

As per the settlement agreement, New Jersey could receive over $600 million from the $26 billion nationwide settlement, which will be paid by the opioid manufacturing companies.

States can decide about their participation in the agreement by August 21, 2021. Companies can decide to enter the agreement by September 4, and counties and municipal governments have to confirm their participation by January 2, 2022.

As per the settlement, J&J will pay up to $5 billion over ten years, and distributors will collectively pay up to $21 billion over 18 years. The agreement even guides that a major part of the settlement will be used for the treatment of opioid addicts and the prevention of further opioid crisis.

The agreement even orders the companies to stop selling opioids and restrict the marketing of the drugs. It even ordered J&J to provide clinical data about opioids.

The attorney general said that the opioid crisis has devastated many New Jersey families and has been a matter of concern throughout the U.S. for the past decade. He added that no amount could compensate for the lost lives and affected families, but the settlement will surely help the state and the nation to prevent the further opioid crisis.

Arizona & Oregon Joins Nationwide $26B Opioid Settlement

Oregon and Arizona have signed the $26 billion nationwide opioid settlement agreement, which will be paid by the three major pharmaceutical distributors and Johnson and Johnson (J&J).

As per the agreement, Oregon will receive up to $332 million over the next 18 years and Arizona will get $549 million for opioid treatment and prevention of future opioid crisis. The final settlement amount for both the states will depend on the participation of cities and counties in the agreement.

The settlement will give some relief to the opioid affected families and individuals of the state. The amount would be used to prevent future opioid crisis and implement awareness programs to educate people about opioid side effects. It will also be used to treat the affected individuals who are suffering from life-altering effects due to opioid addiction.

Arizona declared a public health emergency in 2017 as the number of opioid-related deaths increased by 75% over five years. In 2020, the death rate due to opioids in Arizona increased to 33% more than the previous year, as 2,600 residents died because of the overdose. The death rate due to opioids decreased in Oregon between 2006 and 2018, but the state saw 462 deaths in 2020 as compared to 280 in 2019 due to opioid overdose.

The agreement guides the drug distributors and J&J to stop selling opioids and highlight suspicious opioid orders instantly for preventing illicit opioid activities.

Nevada Rejects $26B National Opioid Settlement

Nevada has rejected the nationwide opioid settlement of $26 billion, which would be paid by the three major pharmaceutical distributors, along with Johnson & Johnson (J&J).

Many states have agreed with the $26 billion agreement, but some states, including Nevada, Alabama, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Washington and West Virginia, rejected the proposal and would seek separate compensation.

Attorney General Aaron Ford said that as per the agreement, Nevada would have received $282 million over the next 18 years as compensation for the opioid crisis in the state. He further added that the compensation is inadequate and also provided data stating that Nevada witnessed a 40% increase in opioid deaths in 2020 as compared to 2019.

Ford said that Nevada is the hardest-hit state in the U.S. because of the opioid crisis, and he will make sure to get proper compensation for the epidemic. The rejection of the deal is supported by the Clark, Douglas, Humboldt, Mineral and Washoe counties, along with North Las Vegas, Sparks and West Wendover cities of Nevada.

The states still have a period of one month to sign the month, whereas the local governments have five months to accept the proposal. Forty-four states have participated in the agreement, which is a wonderful support to the deal as per the companies.

J&J will pay $5 billion, and the distributors, namely McKesson Corp., AmerisourceBergen Corp. and Cardinal Health Inc., will pay $21 billion of the settlement.