N.J. Bankruptcy Judge Refuses to Disqualify Ellis for Dinner with J&J Counsel, Ad Hoc Committee

TRENTON, N.J. –– A federal bankruptcy judge has refused to disqualify representative for future talc claimants Randi S. Ellis for attending a dinner at a Princeton, N.J., steakhouse with Ad Hoc Committee members and counsel for Johnson & Johnson, ruling the motion “lacks any legal or factual basis.”

In an Aug. 1 two-page order, Chief Judge Michael B. Kaplan of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey denied the motion to disqualify Ellis “without further discussion as being without merit.”

In a July 12 motion, plaintiffs represented by Maune Raichle Hartley French & Mudd LLC (MRHFM) maintained …