Del. Federal Court Refuses to Fix Venue of 2,400 Talcum Powder Claims, Says ‘Related-To’ Subject Matter Jurisdiction Doesn’t Exist

WILMINGTON, Del. –– A Delaware federal court has denied Johnson & Johnson’s efforts to fix venue of approximately 2,400 state court talc cases in the state, concluding that the court does not have “related-to” subject matter jurisdiction over the claims.

In a July 19 order, the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware opined that potential indemnification is not sufficient to establish subject matter jurisdiction and, further, that Johnson & Johnson had failed to establish that shared insurance impacts Imerys Talc America’s estates.

“…[T]he court is not convinced how, if at all, the fixture of these cases here …