The talc supplier maintained the safety of its product, saying it was in the best interest of the company to not spend the millions it would take to defend these cases.
“After carefully evaluating all possible options, we determined that pursuing Chapter 11 protection is the best course of action to address our historic talc-related liabilities and position the filing companies for continued growth. The safety of talc has been confirmed by dozens of peer-reviewed studies, as well as regulatory and scientific bodies, and the litigation is entirely without merit,” Giorgio La Motta, president of Imerys Talc America, said in a press release.
Almost 15,000 lawsuits have been filed over the talc product. Imerys also noted a major case against Johnson & Johnson last year and the “ensuing media attention” as factors that led to the Chapter 11 filing. In the case, Johnson & Johnson was ordered to pay $4.69 billion to 22 women who alleged that asbestos in talc caused ovarian cancer — a decision the company says it’s appealing.
“It is simply not in the best interests of our stakeholders to litigate these claims in perpetuity and incur millions of dollars in projected legal costs to defend these cases,” La Motta said. “By deciding to file for Chapter 11 protection, we have laid the groundwork to efficiently resolve our historic talc-related liabilities and focus on our continued success in the industry.”
Imerys Talc’s operations will remain unchanged despite the bankruptcy filing, with no anticipated interruptions for their employees or other clients.
VTDigger previously reported that most Imerys talc used in Johnson & Johnson baby powder came from Vermont mines until 2003. Since then, though Imerys still provides the company talc, that product no longer comes from Vermont.
