Attorneys Papantonio and Birchfield say today's statement from the J&J VP of Litigation underscores the company's "ghoul defense" strategy of waiting for ovarian cancer victims to die.
PENSACOLA, FL, August 23, 2024 — Plaintiffs' attorneys in the national talc ovarian cancer litigation responded to the false statements presented by Erik Haas, Worldwide Vice President of Litigation, Johnson & Johnson. Today, Haas released "An Update on Plan Certification Timeline," in which he stated:
"...plaintiffs’ attorneys who have opposed the plan reached out to engage in negotiations with the Company. These lawyers, who attest that they represent the majority of claimants who oppose the Plan, requested that the claims administrator pause the Plan’s certification. This will allow these plaintiffs’ attorneys time to speak to their claimants to now consider supporting the Plan. We have agreed to a short extension of the certification timeline to accommodate this request.”
Attorney Mike Papantonio, of Levin Papantonio, and Attorney Andy Birchfield, of Beasley Allen Law Firm, have called Haas' statement "typically, for Erik Haas, untrue."
Johnson & Johnson is simply waiting for more women to die. It's cheaper to settle that way.
MIKE PAPANTONIO, ATTORNEY, LEVIN PAPANTONIO
"If somebody has reached out to them, it's somebody who has zero authority to do so," Papantonio said. "More than likely, it's an attorney who has proved themselves incapable of actual lawyering."
"Erik Haas is so certain that J&J's third bankruptcy effort is going to fail that he is trying to delay it, trying to charm himself into believing that real lawyers are going to participate. Nothing like that is happening," Papantonio said. "Erik Haas is an outdated dinosaur who's trying to save his job after so many failures."
Birchfield added that the math of a bankruptcy settlement simply does not work out for ovarian cancer victims. "The average medical cost is going to be in the neighborhood of $300,00 to $500,000—although those costs can reach $1 million to $2 million, depending on how long the woman lives," Birchfield explained.
A J&J bankruptcy settlement would yield ovarian cancer claimants between $100,00 and $130,000, according to Birchfield.
"After all the medical liens are paid, and the lawyer fees are paid, the women still end up owing money—because of their efforts to stay alive while enduring the horrible ovarian cancer caused by J&J's conduct," Papantonio added. "There is no rational plaintiffs' lawyer who would accept the idea of a company worth $450 billion declaring bankruptcy to the detriment of women who can be expected to die horrible deaths."
The attorneys brand J&J's delay tactics—of which today's announcement is yet another example—as a "ghoul defense."
"Johnson & Johnson is simply waiting for more women to die. It's cheaper to settle their claim that way," Papantonio explained. "For 11 years, the courts have told J&J that bankruptcy is not an option. However, instead of doing the right thing, they're hunting for a do-anything bankruptcy judge in Texas who will let them off the hook. This isn’t about justice. It’s about profit at the cost of human lives."
Birchfield agreed that Haas' tactic with today's announcement continues the mindset of the Texas Two-Step that J&J has attempted to wield as a weapon against accountability to victims of the company's deadly talc products.
“It's a shameless strategy designed to keep victims from ever seeing the inside of a courtroom. It’s about denying them justice, forcing them to wait in limbo while the company offers pennies on the dollar—or worse, waits for them to die. This is corporate greed at its most ruthless," Birchfield said.
About Levin Papantonio
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Levin Papantonio attorneys handle lawsuits throughout the country involving prescription drugs, medical devices, medical malpractice, car accidents, and business litigation. Levin Papantonio has helped recover over $80 billion in jury verdicts and settlements, litigating against some of the largest corporations in the world.
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