A Texas bankruptcy case is on the verge of paying out billions to cancer patients and others who have health claims relating to talc, which is used in products like makeup and baby powder.
But on the eve of final approval, there is a frantic effort by a set of trial lawyers to hold up the deal, putting the money for countless cancer patients and families in limbo.
This marks a stark reminder of a recurring consumer protection problem that demands real attention: the way that trial lawyers are wrecking the bankruptcy system and putting themselves in the driver’s seat at the expense of all the other people who rely on that system.
The case in question is often referred to as Red River and involves the mega-corporation Johnson & Johnson and legal claims relating to talc.
Johnson & Johnson, of course, denies virtually all wrongdoing. And bankruptcy experts mostly…
