September 1, 2026 update: Vi-Jon filed a notice setting September 29, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern as the general deadline for proofs of claim subject to the bar-date order. The notice excludes direct talc claims from that deadline but includes indirect talc claims, subject to its stated exceptions. It sets a separate governmental deadline of January 29, 2027, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern. Bar-date notice.
Vi-Jon, LLC filed a Chapter 11 plan on September 2, 2026, proposing a talc personal injury trust with a guaranteed $25 million cash contribution from Emprise Group, plus a $1 million note, insurance rights and other assets. The proposal seeks to channel present and future talc claims to the trust while transferring selected business assets to non-debtor affiliates. A September 23 hearing is scheduled to consider interim approval of the disclosure statement and solicitation procedures. These are proposed settlement terms, not an approved or funded trust. Disclosure statement; hearing notice.
The distinction matters for recovery analysis: the cash contribution is only one component of the proposed trust, and the additional assets carry different payment conditions. This account reviews the September 2 plan and disclosure statement against docket activity available through September 9, 2026.
The plan provides for Emprise to contribute $25 million to the trust on the effective date. That amount would not be reduced by professional claims or other obligations. Separately, the reorganized debtor would issue a $1 million, non-interest-bearing note due six months after effectiveness. Emprise HPC would pledge 50.1% of the reorganized debtor’s equity to secure that note. Plan, Article IV.B; disclosure statement, Article I.B.
Proposed trust asset
Payment or recovery condition
$25 million cash contribution
Payable by Emprise on the effective date; protected from reductions for professional claims and other obligations
$1 million promissory note
Payable by the reorganized debtor within six months after effectiveness; secured by a pledge of 50.1% of its equity
Insurance rights and assigned causes of action
Rights transferred to the trust; their assignment does not establish cash collections
Etzel property proceeds or the property itself
Net sale proceeds, or the property if the transaction does not close or required consents are withheld; affiliates would waive associated liens
Settlement fee of up to $20 million
Contingent on a qualifying Emprise sale or merger; equal to 50% of the first $40 million of gross consideration above $1 billion
Proposed Talc Trust Funding
The disclosure statement’s settlement overview describes these assets and the settlement-fee formula. The contingent fee and noncash rights should not be treated as money available at effectiveness.
If the reorganized debtor fails to repay the note at maturity, the trust could foreclose on the pledged equity after written notice. The note would otherwise be non-recourse to Emprise HPC. That gives the trust a specified remedy for nonpayment without making the note equivalent to the effective-date cash contribution. Plan, Article IV.B.3.
What Emprise and its affiliates would receive
The settlement links affiliate contributions to asset transfers and protection from talc claims. Vi-Jon would transfer a material set of assets identified on a transfer schedule to non-debtor affiliates. Trust assets and other excluded assets would remain outside that transfer. The reorganized debtor would retain certain intellectual property and license it to affiliates; Emprise HPC would hold its equity, subject to the pledge securing the trust note. Disclosure statement, Article I.B.
The proposed section 524(g) channeling injunction would direct covered present and future talc personal injury claims to the trust and protect the debtor, reorganized debtor, non-debtor affiliates and specified related parties. The disclosure statement describes the contributions as consideration both for settling estate causes of action and for including those parties within the injunction’s protections. Those protections remain part of the proposed plan. Disclosure statement, Article I.B.
Vi-Jon manufactures private-label Epsom salts and body powders and is wholly owned by Emprise HPC. Its ultimate parent is employee-owned through an employee stock ownership plan. Emprise’s August announcement said the filing was limited to Vi-Jon’s dry goods business and excluded Nice-Pak, UpLift Brands—including Germ-X—and other group businesses. Disclosure statement, Article II.A; Emprise announcement.
General unsecured creditors have a separate recovery pool
Emprise would also contribute $7 million to the debtor at effectiveness for allowed general administrative expenses, professional claims and the general unsecured creditor recovery pool. The plan defines that pool as $100,000 for pro rata distribution to holders of allowed general unsecured claims. It is separate from the talc trust. Disclosure statement, Article I.B and attached plan definitions.
The disclosure statement estimates a 4.1% recovery for general unsecured claims, subject to changes in claims and the assumptions underlying its liquidation analysis. That is the debtor’s estimate, not a guaranteed distribution. Emprise and other non-debtor affiliates would waive participation in the pool on account of intercompany claims. Disclosure statement, Articles I.B–D.
Bar-date notice distinguishes direct and indirect talc claims
The September 1 notice implements the court’s August 28 bar-date order. Its general deadline covers prepetition claims subject to the order, including indirect talc claims for contribution, reimbursement, subrogation or indemnity. The notice expressly states that the order sets no deadline for direct talc claims. That distinction matters when assessing the claims population: the September 29 deadline does not establish a cutoff for direct talc personal injury claims addressed by the proposed trust. Bar-date notice, pages 1–3.
The notice requires actual receipt by the applicable deadline and provides separate timing rules for claims affected by amended schedules and contract or lease rejection. Its exceptions and claim definitions govern the scope of those deadlines. Bar-date notice, pages 2–4.
September hearing addresses solicitation
The September 2 notice schedules a hearing for September 23, 2026, at 3 p.m. Eastern to consider interim disclosure-statement approval and solicitation procedures. It sets September 15 at 4 p.m. Eastern as the objection deadline for that relief. The hearing concerns the process for soliciting votes; it is not identified as the plan-confirmation hearing. Hearing notice.
The disclosure statement identifies the unsecured creditors committee and future claimants’ representative as supporting the settlement. It also cautions that confirmation and effectiveness depend on conditions that may not be satisfied. The next substantive question is whether the proposed trust funding, asset transfers and protections obtain the votes and court approvals needed to become binding. Disclosure statement, Articles I.A–B.
This article was researched and written with AI assistance, using court filings, public records, and news sources. AI-generated content can contain errors. Verify all information against primary sources before relying on it. This is not legal or financial advice. See the disclaimer.