Lawyers increase talc ad spending after J&J's $9 billion settlement offer
By Diana Novak Jones
Nov 5 (Reuters) -Television advertisements soliciting claims from people who say they got cancer from talc powder products dramatically increased in September, the same month that Johnson & Johnson said it would pay more than $9 billion to resolve talc claims as part of a proposed bankruptcy settlement, according to new data.
Data from mass tort advertising tracker X Ante shows plaintiffs’ attorneys spent more than $778,000 to air more than 4,600 TV ads soliciting the claims, the most spent on talc ads since August 2023, according to X Ante founder Rustin Silverstein.
September's ad spending, an increase of more than 65% over the previous month, is still far less than lawyers were spending on ads in 2023, according to Silverstein. But it could represent a final push for clients from plaintiffs' attorneys who see the latest settlement offer as a potential end to the litigation.
Johnson & Johnson is facing lawsuits from more than 62,000 plaintiffs who say they were diagnosed with cancer after using baby powder and other talc products, according to a company filing.
That number is as high as 100,000 when counting claimants who haven't sued, Erik Haas, J&J's global vice president of litigation, has said.
The company has maintained its talc products are safe and do not cause cancer.
A spokesperson for Johnson & Johnson declined to comment on the ad spending.
Johnson & Johnson has sought to resolve the claims through bankruptcy, a proposal that faced stiff opposition from some plaintiffs’ attorneys and has been rebuffed twice by federal courts.
Some plaintiffs’ attorneys support the deal as the best way to get compensation for their clients, while others argue that the settlement value is too low and that wealthy companies like J&J should not be allowed to use the legal system to gain bankruptcy protections meant for people and companies that cannot afford to pay their debts.
The jump in advertising came after Johnson & Johnson upped its proposed settlement in early September to resolve the claims by an additional $1.1 billion, bringing the potential value of a settlement to more than $9 billion paid over 25 years.
J&J's latest settlement offer addresses allegations that talc caused ovarian and other gynecological cancers, which are the bulk of the claims J&J faces.
On Sept. 20, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary filed for bankruptcy for a third time after the company said the majority of talc claimants had voted in support of another filing. The goal is to use the proceeding to resolve all current and future claims over talc.
After September’s increase, the TV advertising for talc claims dropped off steeply in October, according to Silverstein. Silverstein and his company X Ante track spending in television, radio and social media advertising of attorneys seeking claimants for mass torts.
Últimas notícias
Isenção de Responsabilidade: As entidades do XM Group proporcionam serviço de apenas-execução e acesso à nossa plataforma online de negociação, permitindo a visualização e/ou uso do conteúdo disponível no website ou através deste, o que não se destina a alterar ou a expandir o supracitado. Tal acesso e uso estão sempre sujeitos a: (i) Termos e Condições; (ii) Avisos de Risco; e (iii) Termos de Responsabilidade. Este, é desta forma, fornecido como informação generalizada. Particularmente, por favor esteja ciente que os conteúdos da nossa plataforma online de negociação não constituem solicitação ou oferta para iniciar qualquer transação nos mercados financeiros. Negociar em qualquer mercado financeiro envolve um nível de risco significativo de perda do capital.
Todo o material publicado na nossa plataforma de negociação online tem apenas objetivos educacionais/informativos e não contém — e não deve ser considerado conter — conselhos e recomendações financeiras, de negociação ou fiscalidade de investimentos, registo de preços de negociação, oferta e solicitação de transação em qualquer instrumento financeiro ou promoção financeira não solicitada direcionadas a si.
Qual conteúdo obtido por uma terceira parte, assim como o conteúdo preparado pela XM, tais como, opiniões, pesquisa, análises, preços, outra informação ou links para websites de terceiras partes contidos neste website são prestados "no estado em que se encontram", como um comentário de mercado generalizado e não constitui conselho de investimento. Na medida em que qualquer conteúdo é construído como pesquisa de investimento, deve considerar e aceitar que este não tem como objetivo e nem foi preparado de acordo com os requisitos legais concebidos para promover a independência da pesquisa de investimento, desta forma, deve ser considerado material de marketing sob as leis e regulações relevantes. Por favor, certifique-se que leu e compreendeu a nossa Notificação sobre Pesquisa de Investimento não-independente e o Aviso de Risco, relativos à informação supracitada, os quais podem ser acedidos aqui.
