Montgomery-based law firm Beasley Allen has been disqualified from a "multidistrict" lawsuit filed against the global health care corporation, Johnson & Johnson.
The litigation is related to the company's talcum powder and its suspected link to ovarian cancer in users. Beasley Allen was also fighting J&J's effort to file for bankruptcy.
According to The Wall Street Journal, federal magistrate judge Rukhsanah Singh ordered that Johnson & Johnson attorneys be barred from representing plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Singh ruled against the firm, finding it had worked with a former J&J attorney who had access to "privileged information and litigation strategy" to create a proposal to settle the lawsuit.
"Disqualification is a remedy courts are not quick to administer," Singh wrote. "Yet, there are moments when it is necessary, when balancing the equities and interest. This is such a moment. Clearly, personal antagonism and poor choices render Beasley Allen’s continued leadership problematic."
Singh added, "All Plaintiffs involved in this matter deserve to be represented by counsel...who are above reproach."
Beasley Allen has indicated that it will appeal the ruling.
Johnson & Johnson maintains there is no link between its talcum powder and ovarian cancer.
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