Settlement Talks in the Johnson and Johnson Talcum Powder Litigation

Settlement Talks in the Johnson and Johnson Talcum Powder Litigation -

The status of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) talcum powder litigation is defined by the failure of J&J's bankruptcy strategy and the court-ordered push for mediation to resolve over 67,000 pending lawsuits.

The key developments as of late 2025 center on the return to traditional litigation and the appointment of court officials to broker a global settlement.

⚖️ The End of the Bankruptcy Strategy

The biggest recent development was the definitive end of J&J's controversial attempt to resolve the vast majority of claims through Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

• Three Attempts Rejected: J&J's subsidiary, which housed the talc liability (LTL Management, later Red River Talc LLC), made three attempts to use the "Texas Two-Step" maneuver to file for bankruptcy and impose a global settlement on all current and future claimants.

• Final Dismissal: The U.S. Bankruptcy Court dismissed the third and final bankruptcy effort in March 2025, rejecting the proposed $8 billion settlement plan.

• Return to Court: Following the rejection, J&J announced it would abandon the bankruptcy strategy and return to litigating the claims individually in state and federal courts. This lifted the stay on all pending lawsuits, allowing them to move forward.

🤝 Court-Ordered Mediation and Negotiation

With the bankruptcy shield gone, the federal court overseeing the Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) has actively intervened to force settlement discussions.

• Mediation Order: In July 2025, the MDL judge appointed an official mediator, Fouad Kurdi, and formally ordered both J&J and the plaintiffs' steering committee to engage in good-faith mediation to pursue a global settlement for the ovarian cancer claims (which make up the vast majority of the lawsuits).

• Full Authority Required: The order required both sides to send representatives to the sessions with full settlement authority, underscoring the court's intent to move beyond procedural posturing toward a substantive resolution. Initial mediation sessions began in September 2025.

• Special Master Appointed: In a separate but related move, the court appointed retired U.S. District Judge Freda Wolfson as a Special Master to review the admissibility of key expert scientific evidence. A favorable ruling for the plaintiffs on expert testimony could significantly increase J&J's leverage to settle.

💰 Ongoing Trial Pressure

The resumption of individual lawsuits has put immense financial pressure on J&J to reach a deal in mediation, as juries continue to rule in favor of the plaintiffs.

• Massive Verdicts: Since mid-2025, juries in state courts have returned several large verdicts against J&J, including:

  • A $966 million verdict in California (October 2025) for a mesothelioma case, which included $950 million in punitive damages.

  • A $20 million verdict in Florida (November 2025) for a mesothelioma case.

  • A $42.6 million verdict in Massachusetts (August 2025) for a mesothelioma case.

• First Bellwether Trial: The first bellwether (test) trial in the federal MDL is scheduled to proceed in late 2025/early 2026 with the Judkins v. Johnson & Johnson case. The outcome of this trial will be a critical data point that influences the final settlement value of the remaining thousands of cases.

In summary, the litigation is now in a crucial period. The failed bankruptcy attempts have put J&J back on the defensive, and the pressure from court-ordered mediation and mounting multi-million dollar jury verdicts makes a large-scale, non-bankruptcy global settlement possible in the coming months.