Williams v. Johnson & Johnson et al
| SHIRLEY WILLIAMS |
| JOHNSON & JOHNSON CONSUMER INC, JOHNSON & JOHNSON, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies Inc, Grove Park Pharmacy Home Care LLC, Grove Park Pharmacy Hospice Care LLC and Orange Cut Rate Drugs Inc |
| JOHNSON & JOHNSON TALCUM POWDER PRODUCTS MARKETING, SALES PRACTICES AND PRODUCTS LIABILITY LITIGATION |
| 3:2021cv20360 |
| December 6, 2021 |
| US District Court for the District of New Jersey |
| Lois H Goodman |
| Freda L Wolfson |
| Personal Injury: Health Care/Pharmaceutical Personal Injury Product Liability |
| 28 U.S.C. § 1446 pl |
| Both |
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| Filing 40 Certified Copy of Transfer Order and docket received, Case transferred in from District of South Carolina; Case Number 5:21-cv-03058. Original file certified copy of transfer order and docket sheet received. |
| Chief Judge Freda L. Wolfson and Magistrate Judge Lois H. Goodman added. (mg) |
| Filing 39 Case transferred to New Jersey per certified copy of Conditional Transfer Order Number 2738. The Transferring Clerk's Office hereby attests the record and the docket sheet available through CM/ECF to be the certified list. (asni, ) |
| Filing 38 RESPONSE in Support re #36 MOTION to Stay re 32 Order, Response filed by Grove Park Pharmacy Hospice Care LLC. (White, Daniel) |
| Filing 37 RESPONSE in Support re #36 MOTION to Stay re 32 Order Response filed by Orange Cut Rate Drugs Inc. (Ford, Ian) |
| Filing 36 MOTION to Stay re 32 Order, Response to Motion due by 12/16/2021. Add an additional 3 days only if served by mail or otherwise allowed under Fed. R. Civ. P. 6 or Fed. R. Crim. P. 45. No proposed order.(Lewis, William) |
| Filing 35 REPLY by Grove Park Pharmacy Hospice Care LLC to 30 Order. (White, Daniel) |
| Filing 34 REPLY by Orange Cut Rate Drugs Inc to 30 Order. (Ford, Ian) |
| Filing 33 REPLY by Shirley Williams to 30 Order. (Lewis, William) |
| Filing 32 TEXT ORDER: On August 12, 2021, Plaintiff filed this action in the Court of Common Pleas for Orangeburg County, South Carolina, alleging claims for strict liability, failure to warn, and negligence against Johnson & Johnson and Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc., f/k/a Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc. (collectively, "Johnson & Johnson"); Grove Park Pharmacy Home Care, LLC, Grove Park Pharmacy Hospice Care, LLC (collectively, "Grove Park Defendants"); and Orange Cut Rate Drugs, Inc. ("Cut Rate Drugs"). (ECF No. 1-1.) On September 22, 2021, Johnson & Johnson removed the case to federal court based on diversity jurisdiction, and also alleging fraudulent joinder. (ECF No. 1 at 4 9.) On September 23, 2021, Johnson & Johnson filed a Motion to Stay all proceedings in this action "pending its likely transfer to MDL No. 2738, In re Johnson & Johnson Talcum Power Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation pending before Judge Freda Wolfson in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey." (ECF No. 8 at 1.) On October 11, 2021, Plaintiff filed a Motion to Remand this action to state court based on properly joined South Carolina parties and the fact that not all defendants joined in removal. (ECF No. 22 at 1.) On October 15, 2021, Johnson & Johnson filed a Suggestion of Bankruptcy and Stay, notifying the court that LTL Management, LLC ("LTL") had filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. (ECF No. 25.) Because the Suggestion of Bankruptcy was filed by Johnson & Johnson regarding the bankruptcy filing of a nondefendant, the court directed the parties to submit briefing on or before November 29, 2021, as to their positions on the applicability of the automatic stay to this action. (ECF No. 30.) On November 15, 2021, Johnson & Johnson filed a Notice of Stay of Proceedings informing the court that the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of North Carolina had issued an order granting LTL's pending motion for preliminary injunctive relief and confirming that all talc-related claims against Johnson & Johnson entities are stayed. (ECF No. 31 at 2 (attaching the order as ECF No. 31-1).) The Bankruptcy Court Order refers to certain "protected parties" identified in Appendix B to the bankruptcy complaint. (ECF No. 31-1 at 4.) The list of protected parties includes Johnson & Johnson and Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc., (ECF No. 25-2 at 2), but does not include the other defendants in the present action, namely Grove Park Defendants and Cut Rate Drugs. Upon consideration of the foregoing, the court asks the parties to submit briefing addressing the pending motions in this case and whether the claims against Grove Park Defendants and Cut Rate Drugs should be severed from the claims against the Johnson & Johnson Defendants. Briefs in response to this order should be submitted by December 2, 2021. Signed by Honorable J Michelle Childs on 11/23/2021. (asni, ) |
| Filing 31 REPLY by Johnson & Johnson to 30 Order. (Attachments: #1 Exhibit Bankruptcy Court Order)(asni, ) refiled by the clerk to correct event type. |
| Filing 30 TEXT ORDER: This matter is before the court pursuant to Defendant Johnson & Johnson's Suggestion of Bankruptcy (ECF No. 25) in which it acknowledges that LTL Management, LLC ("LTL") filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code on October 14, 2021. Johnson & Johnson's Suggestion further asserts that Johnson & Johnson ceased to exist following a corporate restructuring and, as a result of the restructuring, "LTL is now responsible for the talc-related claims" asserted against Johnson & Johnson in this proceeding. (Id. at 12.) Having been informed of the pending bankruptcy of Johnson & Johnsons subsidiary in Bankruptcy Case No. 21-30589 (JCW), pending in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of North Carolina (see ECF No. 25-1), the court must consider the applicability to this litigation of the automatic stay provisions of 11 U.S.C. 362(a)(1), which operate to stay judicial proceedings against the debtor. The automatic stay is "one of the fundamental debtor protections provided by the bankruptcy laws" and "[i]t gives the debtor a breathing spell from his creditors" and "stops all collection efforts, all harassment, and all foreclosure actions." Houck v. Substitute Tr. Servs., Inc., 791 F.3d 473, 480 (4th Cir. 2015) (internal and external citations omitted). However, the automatic stay "is generally said to be available only to the debtor, not third-party defendants or co-defendants." Kreisler v. Goldberg, 478 F.3d 209, 213 (4th Cir. 2007) (quoting A.H. Robins Co., Inc. v. Piccinin, 788 F.2d 994, 999 (4th Cir. 1986)). Because the Suggestion of Bankruptcy was filed by Johnson & Johnson regarding the bankruptcy filing of a nondefendant, the issue arises as to whether the automatic stay is applicable to the defendants in this action. Accordingly, the court DIRECTS the parties to submit briefing on or before November 29, 2021, as to their positions on the applicability of the automatic stay to this action. The briefs shall comply with rules governing memoranda as defined by Local Civil Rule 7.05 (D.S.C.) (Specific Document due by 11/29/2021) Signed by Honorable J Michelle Childs on 11/10/2021. (asni, ) |
| Filing 29 TEXT ORDER granting #28 Motion for Extension of Time to File Response/Reply #22 MOTION to Remand to State Court Response to Motion due by 11/15/2021. Add an additional 3 days only if served by mail or otherwise allowed under Fed. R. Civ. P. 6 or Fed. R. Crim. P. 45. Signed by Honorable J Michelle Childs on 11/8/2021.(asni, ) |
| Filing 28 Second MOTION for Extension of Time to File Response/Reply as to #22 MOTION to Remand by Johnson & Johnson. Response to Motion due by 11/22/2021. Add an additional 3 days only if served by mail or otherwise allowed under Fed. R. Civ. P. 6 or Fed. R. Crim. P. 45. No proposed order.(Kitts, Amanda) |
| Filing 27 TEXT ORDER granting #26 Motion for Extension of Time to File Response/Reply re #22 MOTION to Remand to State Court Response to Motion due by 11/8/2021. Add an additional 3 days only if served by mail or otherwise allowed under Fed. R. Civ. P. 6 or Fed. R. Crim. P. 45. Signed by Honorable J Michelle Childs on 10/26/2021.(asni, ) |
| Filing 26 Consent MOTION for Extension of Time to File Response/Reply as to #22 MOTION to Remand to State Court by Johnson & Johnson. Response to Motion due by 11/8/2021. Add an additional 3 days only if served by mail or otherwise allowed under Fed. R. Civ. P. 6 or Fed. R. Crim. P. 45. No proposed order.(Kitts, Amanda) |
| Filing 25 SUGGESTION OF BANKRUPTCY Upon the Record and Stay by Johnson & Johnson, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. (Attachments: #1 Exhibit A - Voluntary Petition, #2 Exhibit B - List of Entities)(Kitts, Amanda) |
| Filing 24 REPLY to Response to Motion re #8 MOTION to Stay All Proceedings Response filed by Johnson & Johnson, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. (Attachments: #1 Exhibit A - MDL - 2021.09.24 2749 MDL CTO, #2 Exhibit B - 2005.03.21 JPML ltr to Hon. Ricardo H. Hinojosa, #3 Exhibit C - MDL - 2021.10.08 2758 Transfer Order)(Jokerst, Jennifer) |
| Filing 23 Case Reassigned to Judge Honorable J Michelle Childs. Judge Unassigned - MDL no longer assigned to the case. (glev, ) |
| Filing 22 MOTION to Remand to State Court by Shirley Williams. Response to Motion due by 10/25/2021. Add an additional 3 days only if served by mail or otherwise allowed under Fed. R. Civ. P. 6 or Fed. R. Crim. P. 45. (Attachments: #1 Exhibit A - Secretary of State Materials)No proposed order.(Lewis, William) |
| Filing 20 RESPONSE in Opposition re #8 MOTION to Stay All Proceedings Response filed by Shirley Williams.Reply to Response to Motion due by 10/14/2021 Add an additional 3 days only if served by mail or otherwise allowed under Fed. R. Civ. P. 6. (Lewis, William) |
| Filing 19 Plaintiff's Local Rule 26.01 Answers to Interrogatories by Shirley Williams.(Lewis, William) |
| Filing 18 NOTICE of Appearance by William Peter Maurides on behalf of Grove Park Pharmacy Hospice Care LLC (Maurides, William) |
| Filing 17 NOTICE of Appearance by Daniel Bowman White on behalf of Grove Park Pharmacy Hospice Care LLC (White, Daniel) |
| Filing 16 NOTICE of Appearance by Hunter H James on behalf of Grove Park Pharmacy Home Care LLC, Grove Park Pharmacy Hospice Care LLC, Orange Cut Rate Drugs Inc (James, Hunter) |
| Filing 15 Local Rule 26.01 Answers to Interrogatories by Grove Park Pharmacy Home Care LLC, Grove Park Pharmacy Hospice Care LLC.(Ford, Ian) |
| Filing 14 ANSWER to Complaint by Grove Park Pharmacy Home Care LLC, Grove Park Pharmacy Hospice Care LLC.(Ford, Ian) |
| Filing 11 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE by Johnson & Johnson, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc re #7 Notice and Acknowledgment of Removal, #5 Answer to Complaint, #2 Local Rule 26.01 Answers to Interrogatories, #1 Notice of Removal, #3 Local Rule 26.01 Answers to Interrogatories, #8 MOTION to Stay All Proceedings (Jokerst, Jennifer) |
| Filing 10 Local Rule 26.01 Answers to Interrogatories by Orange Cut Rate Drugs Inc.(Ford, Ian) |
| Filing 9 ANSWER to Complaint by Orange Cut Rate Drugs Inc.(Ford, Ian) |
| Filing 8 MOTION to Stay All Proceedings by Johnson & Johnson, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. Response to Motion due by 10/7/2021. Add an additional 3 days only if served by mail or otherwise allowed under Fed. R. Civ. P. 6 or Fed. R. Crim. P. 45. (Attachments: #1 Memo in Support, #2 Exhibit A - Phillips Order staying case, #3 Exhibit B - MDL Transfer Order)No proposed order.(Jokerst, Jennifer) |
| Filing 7 NOTICE and Acknowledgment of receipt of Notice of Removal by Clerk of Court for Orangeburg County. (Attachments: #1 Main Document Signed Acknowledgment of Notice of Removal)(Jokerst, Jennifer) |
| Filing 5 ANSWER to Complaint Amended Complaint by Johnson & Johnson, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc.(Jokerst, Jennifer) |
| Filing 3 Local Rule 26.01 Answers to Interrogatories by Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc.(asni, ) |
| Filing 2 Local Rule 26.01 Answers to Interrogatories by Johnson & Johnson.(asni, ) |
| Filing 1 NOTICE OF REMOVAL from Orangeburg County, case number 2021-CP-38-00928. (Filing fee $ 402 receipt number 0420-10086966), filed by Johnson & Johnson, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. (Attachments: #1 Exhibit A State Court Pleadings, #2 Exhibit B Flucker Opinion)(asni, ) |
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