Observers of filing trends in personal injury mesothelioma matters alleging exposure to talc contaminated with asbestos have noted that the bankruptcy filing of a predominant defendant in those matters did little to slow the pace of such filings. Instead, as the filing of new matters continued, the number of defendants named in such filings substantially increased.
In an article published last year in DRI’s For the Defense, we outlined the historical basis for current trends in talc litigation, drawing parallels between the current state of litigation related to allegations of exposure to contaminated talc and the history of litigation related to industrial asbestos exposure claims following the 1982 bankruptcy of Johns Manville. In particular, we anticipated that bankruptcy filings by defendants would only expand the number of named defendants in related mesothelioma filings.
