Avon
August 21, 2025
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Craig T. Goldblatt in Delaware ruled on August 21, 2025, that the Chapter 11 liquidation plan proposed by Avon Products Inc. and its affiliates can be confirmed once certain provisions of the plan and confirmation order are revised. The debtors filed for bankruptcy in 2024 to address personal injury claims from plaintiffs alleging their diseases were caused by talc in Avon cosmetics, and during the cases sold their foreign operations to their Brazilian parent, Natura.
In a 98-page memorandum opinion, the judge found that the plan was proposed in good faith, although he said a provision barring recovery by claimants whose exposure to Avon products occurred outside the United States or the United Kingdom looked like an improper effort by certain plaintiffs' lawyers to protect their turf. He largely overruled objections from insurers but required changes so that the rights of the plan's talc trust and the insurers would be essentially the same as they would be outside bankruptcy.
The court also held that the plan may pay bond indenture trustee fees, but sided with the U.S. Trustee in ruling that a gatekeeping provision, which would have required court approval before claims touching the plan's exculpation provision could proceed, must be removed. The debtors proposed the plan in February, the court approved the disclosure statement in May and held a confirmation hearing in July.