J&J Claimants Can Appeal Spinoff Bankruptcy to Third Circuit (1)

Tort claimants alleging harm from Johnson & Johnson’s talc products can send their appeal to end a J&J liability spinoff’s bankruptcy directly to a federal appellate court, a judge ruled.

Judge Michael B. Kaplan of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey earlier this year denied the claimants’ motions to dismiss LTL Management LLC’s bankruptcy for bad faith.

But Kaplan said at a hearing Wednesday that a review of his earlier ruling warrants going directly to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, provided that the appeals court agrees to hear it.

An appeal of ...