J&J Subpoenas to Plaintiffs’ Counsel Quashed, Judge Says Info Not Relevant to Securities Litigation

TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey federal magistrate judge has quashed subpoenas Johnson & Johnson issued to certain attorneys and law firms that represented plaintiffs in talc cases, ruling they do not seek information that is relevant to a putative securities class action against the company.

In an April 29 order, Judge Tonianne Bongiovanni held that in the subpoenas, J&J is attempting to obtain discovery of non-public statements made by attorneys or their experts involved in product liability litigation against the company and that the statements are not relevant to the securities litigation.

The subpoenas at issue all relate to …