By Dietrich Knauth
(Reuters) -A Johnson & Johnson subsidiary filed for bankruptcy a second time on Tuesday, seeking to complete a $8.9 billion settlement of lawsuits alleging that its baby powder and other talc products cause cancer.
J&J subsidiary LTL Management’s first bankruptcy was dismissed earlier on Tuesday, after an appellate court ruled that the neither J&J not LTL were in the type of “financial distress” that made them eligible for bankruptcy.
The new bankruptcy filing includes a proposal to pay $8.9 billion over 25 years to resolve all current and future talc claims, according to J&J. The settlement is supported by over 60,000 current claimants, J&J said in a statement.
J&J said that its settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing, nor an indication that the company has changed its longstanding position that its talcum powder products are safe.
(Reporting by Dietrich Knauth; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Bill Berkrot)
