J&J faced 38,000 talc lawsuits before LTL's first bankruptcy filing in October 2021, but the total number of claims will include many more individuals who have not yet sued J&J. The proposed settlement would resolve all of those unfiled claims, as well as any future claim alleging that a J&J talc product caused cancer.
Attorneys who support the settlement confirmed Maimon’s interpretation when questioned on Wednesday, saying they would recommend the deal, but their clients could make up their own minds. Jim Murdica, J&J's outside counsel and lead negotiator on the settlement, defended J&J’s public statements and disagreed when Maimon suggested that Watts’ clients should not be counted as supporters. Murdica also said that there are many more law firms that support the settlement than the ones that have publicly done so, but he would not identify any of them when asked.