Johnson & Johnson (J&J) on Thursday put into bankruptcy tens of thousands of legal claims alleging its Baby Powder and other talc-based products caused cancer, offloading the potential liabilities into a newly created subsidiary. J&J put the talc claims into an entity called LTL Management LLC, which filed for bankruptcy protection on Thursday in North Carolina, according to the company and court records. J&J and its affiliates were not part of the bankruptcy filing. Tens of thousands of plaintiffs have alleged J&J’s Baby Powder and other talc products contained asbestos and caused cancer, which the company denies. The plaintiffs include women suffering from ovarian cancer and others battling mesothelioma. J&J executed Thursday’s corporate reshuffling through a contentious legal maneuver known as a Texas two-step bankruptcy, a strategy other companies facing asbestos litigation have used. In that process, a J&J business split in two through a so-called divisional merger under Texas …