CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Reuters) -A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Wednesday put a 60-day halt on tens of thousands of legal claims against Johnson & Johnson that allege its talc-based products cause cancer.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Craig Whitley ordered the halt at a hearing in Charlotte, North Carolina.
He also decided to transfer the talc cases to a federal court in New Jersey, where J&J is based and where much of the nationwide litigation over its talc products is being conducted.
Whitley ruled in response to a request from LTL Management LLC, a J&J unit created by the parent company to hold its talc liabilities, to halt the talc cases while it pursued a Chapter 11 restructuring. The parent did not file for bankruptcy.
Shares of J&J were up about 1% after the ruling.
The New Brunswick, New Jersey-based company has maintained that its talc products are safe.
(Reporting by Maria Chutchian; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi, Will Dunham and Nick Zieminski)
