Since the first Johnson & Johnson talc bankruptcy was filed in 2021, Judge Michael Kaplan has faced countless disagreements in the US Bankruptcy Court. These range from discovery fights, disputes over administration of tens of thousands of individual claims and all-out conflict over the total amount in controversy.
Had Kaplan been a district court judge presiding over a mass tort action, the solution would have been obvious: appoint a special master to efficiently manage the increasingly contentious parties. But there was one problem: Kaplan is a bankruptcy judge, and was therefore barred by the Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure from appointing a special master.
Read more.
