Filing for bankruptcy allows Johnson & Johnson to convert legal liability for its talc-based baby powder into a potential $ 2 billion compensation program for cancer victims, but not without a major battle by plaintiffs.
Johnson & Johnson spent $ 1 billion defending its baby powder while juries across the country passed unpredictable judgments, according to a petition filed Thursday in the US bankruptcy court in North Carolina's Western District. As predicted, Johnson & Johnson used a Texas two-step merger to create a new subsidiary, LTL Management LLC, of which John Kim was Chief Legal Officer, most recently Assistant General Counsel of Johnson & Johnson.