GEORGETOWN, Del. (Legal Newsline) — The Delaware Superior Court granted a motion to sever Imerys Talc America Inc. from more than 200 lawsuits that involve talc products.
Judge Charles E. Butler wrote that the bankruptcy court had already effectively granted severance of Imerys when the cases were officially remanded to the state Superior Court in July, according to the April 14 order.
"As made clear at oral argument, Plaintiffs are essentially asking the Court to remove the actions from the dormant docket," Butler wrote. "The only action necessary for the action to resume on the active docket is for the case to be moved from the dormant docket to the active docket."
Between 2016 and 2017, more than 200 lawsuits in Delaware were filed against several companies that manufacture and distribute talc products complaining that the products mixed with baby powder caused them to get ovarian cancer, according to the order.
Imerys sought federal bankruptcy in February 2019 and the lawsuits were stayed until they were remanded to the Delaware Superior Court in July 2019. The plaintiffs then sought to sever Imerys from the cases, but Johnson & Johnson interceded, arguing that the court can't remove the cases from the dormant docket because the law states they have to remain on the docket for two years.
"In the Court's view, J&J reads too much into the directives of a court rule," Butler wrote. "For example, the Rule's mandate that upon the filing of a bankruptcy, the action shall be stayed is merely a restatement of the law of bankruptcy. It is not — and nothing suggests it was ever intended to be — an independent right of non-bankrupt co-defendants to enjoy the stay of the bankrupt entity."
Butler wrote that rule was intended to keep the court aligned with the bankruptcy court and that it couldn't be expanded to the rights of those who are not bankrupt, which would negate the purpose of remanding the case in the first place.
Butler granted the motion by the plaintiffs to remove the cases from the dormant docket.
Delaware Superior Court case numbers; N17C-05-314, N17C-05-337, N17C-05-357, N17C-05-390, N17C-05-295