Gord McKee

LTL Management LLC, an indirect subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, sought recognition of its second US Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding as a foreign main proceeding under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) in Canada.

This application followed the dismissal of its initial Chapter 11 filing due to insufficient immediate financial distress.

The new Chapter 11 was based on a negotiated Plan Support Agreement establishing an $8.9 billion trust for talc-related claims.

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice granted the recognition order, along with ancillary relief including a stay of proceedings against LTL and related Canadian co-defendants, and the appointment of Ernst & Young Inc. as Information Officer.

The court found the US proceeding to be a foreign main proceeding, with LTL's Centre of Main Interests (COMI) in the United States, and that the relief was appropriate to coordinate proceedings and ensure equal treatment of talc-related claims.

The application was unopposed.

This endorsement from a case conference sets a schedule for a class action certification motion.

A parallel action has already been certified in British Columbia based on a tentative settlement with the Johnson & Johnson Defendants.

While the Johnson & Johnson Defendants do not intend to oppose the motion, Canderm Pharma Inc. objects to certain parts, though counsel are working towards a consent motion.

The court approved a schedule for the delivery of materials leading up to the certification motion hearing.