J&J Spars With Foes of $9 Billion Talc Cancer Plan as Trial Ends

Johnson & Johnson told a judge its $9 billion proposal to settle baby powder cancer claims in bankruptcy court is the only viable way to end more than 15 years of litigation, while opponents assailed the company’s efforts to line up support for its plan as deeply flawed.

“Time is off the essence,” J&J’s lawyer, Alli Brown, said Friday in her closing argument to win approval of the plan that would resolve tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging that asbestos-tainted talc in its iconic product has sickened users.

Women suffering from ovarian and other cancers are dying daily, Brown ...