Johnson & Johnson Defendants Oppose Efforts to Hold Hearing on Remand Motions in Recently Removed Talc Cases

ST. LOUIS –– Defendants who recently removed approximately 20 talcum powder cases to federal court have opposed plaintiff efforts to hold a telephonic hearing on emergency motions to remand, arguing that “there are no outstanding discovery or trial deadlines pending in state court that make it essential to resolve the issue of jurisdiction instantaneously.”

In an opposition brief filed July 17 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, the Johnson & Johnson defendants maintained that they only reason the plaintiffs seek the hearing is in order to evade transfer to the national coordinated multidistrict litigation docket …