Articles by Jef Feeley

Months Before Bankruptcy Move, J&J Offered $4B to Settle Talcum Claims

Months before putting one of its units into bankruptcy, Johnson & Johnson offered $4 billion to settle with victims of its talc-based powder — twice the amount it’s now proposing to pay through a forced resolution, according to people familiar …

Potentially ‘Massive’ Litigation Over Recalled Philips Sleep Apnea Devices Advances

Royal Philips NV will face more than 100 U.S. lawsuits gathered in a Pennsylvania court over its recall of more than 3 million devices used to treat sleep apnea that are linked to cancer concerns. Amsterdam-based Philips, maker of respiratory …

Drug Industry Faces First High-Stakes Opioid Jury Trial

Jurors on New York’s Long Island are set to determine whether a group of opioid makers and drug distributors created a public health crisis and should pay for it, in a bellwether trial for lawsuits filed by communities across the …

J&J Reports $263M Resolution of N.Y. Opioid Lawsuits Before Trial

Johnson & Johnson said it agreed to pay $263 million to resolve opioid lawsuits filed in New York, settling the cases on the eve of the first U.S. jury trial over claims the company mishandled the highly addictive painkillers. The …

Investor Suit Alleges Chemours Directors Misled About Firm’s Financials, Liabilities

Chemours Co.’s directors were accused in a lawsuit of duping shareholders about its financial health and the extent of its legal liability at the time it was spun off from a predecessor of DuPont de Nemours Inc. When the former …

Investors Eye Windfall From Denied COVID-19 Insurance Claims

A growing market niche where investors profit from others’ legal troubles is getting a boost from Covid. Distressed-investing funds and litigation-finance boutiques are likely to be spoiled for choice after a landmark U.K. court ruling last month rejected pleas from …

First Coronavirus Business Interruption Trial Gets Underway

The owners of a restaurant in the heart of the New Orleans French Quarter are asking a Louisiana judge to order some Lloyd’s of London insurers to cover losses from the Covid-19 outbreak — the first of a growing number …

Insurers Winning Most, But Not All, COVID-19 Business Interruption Lawsuits

In the multibillion-dollar fight over insurance coverage for pandemic-related business losses, a Florida gynecologist succeeded where more than a dozen professional baseball teams and an iconic Hollywood restaurant failed. Since COVID-19 sparked government-ordered shutdowns in March, judges have dismissed more …

Cigna’s CEO and Board Sued for ‘Black-Ops-Style’ Tactics to Kill Merger with Anthem

Cigna Corp.’s chief executive officer and board used “black-ops-style” tactics in a covert campaign to “blow up” a $48 billion merger with rival insurer Anthem Inc., Cigna investors claim in a lawsuit. A Massachusetts-based pension fund alleges that Cigna CEO …

In Anthem-Cigna Failed Merger ‘Soap Opera,’ Judge Hands Damages to Neither

A Delaware judge rebuffed efforts by both Cigna Corp. and Anthem Inc. to collect billions over their failed merger, saying Cigna had breached its obligations but the merger was likely to have been blocked on antitrust grounds anyway. Cigna, which …