J&J tries the 'Texas Two-Step'

The Indicator from Planet Money

NPR

Business

4.7 • 9.5K Ratings

🗓️ 5 January 2022

⏱️ 9 minutes

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Summary

For years, Johnson & Johnson has been entangled in lawsuits regarding its talcum based products being linked to causing ovarian cancer. And to save itself from future lawsuits, the company is betting big on a tricky legal move named after a famous dance.

Transcript

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0:00.0	NPR.
0:12.0	Johnson and Johnson.
0:13.8	It's one of the biggest, most famous companies in the world.
0:17.3	Its vaccine has saved millions of lives.
0:20.6	Also Band-Aid's lotion, shampoo, 130,000 workers worldwide, not to mention the elusive Triple
0:27.5	A credit rating.
0:28.5	Johnson Johnson is one of just a couple of companies in the country that has that highest
0:32.9	credit rating.
0:33.9	Yeah, except maybe not for long.
0:36.8	Johnson and Johnson is facing a huge legal issue.
0:40.1	Tens of thousands of lawsuits relating to its talcum powder, which has been linked to
0:44.4	health problems, including ovarian cancer.
0:47.3	These lawsuits are going to cost Jan. J billions of dollars, and victims will likely continue
0:52.4	coming forward for years and maybe even decades to come.
0:56.7	Just in Columbia, law fellow Kate Waldox says big cases like these can destabilize even
1:01.9	huge companies like Jan. J.
1:04.2	It might be that this talc litigation completely swallows up all of Johnson and Johnson.
1:10.4	You never know where it's going to end up.
1:12.3	So Jan. J is trying something kind of bold and kind of new.
1:16.7	It's called the Texas Two Step.
1:20.7	It's honestly not something that was really like a major tactic prior to Johnson and Johnson.
1:27.5	There were maybe a couple cases, but it's not like a trodden tactic.
	...

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