ParfumGigi@aol.com
16 octobre, 2007 08:40
Reno Jury Awards $99 Million in Punitives in Wyeth Drug Case
Scott Sonner
The Associated Press
10-16-2007
Jurors awarded $99 million in punitive damages Monday to three Nevada women who claimed hormone replacement drugs distributed by pharmaceutical giant Wyeth caused their breast cancer.
A Wyeth attorney said the award would be appealed.
The Washoe County District Court jury initially issued a $134.5 million judgment against Wyeth last week, but Judge Robert Perry slashed that to $35 million after it became clear some of the jurors were under the mistaken belief that award was to include punitive damages intended to punish the company.
After lawyers for both sides gave closing arguments again on Monday, the judge instructed the five-man, two-women jury to move to the punitive stage of the trial to consider whether the company's actions were so "reprehensible" that additional damages were warranted to punish it and discourage such behavior in the future.
"This verdict is an extreme aberration," said Heidi Hubbard, a partner in the law firm representing Wyeth. "It is inconsistent with every other hormone treatment case to be tried to date and it is inconsistent with the evidence."
The judgment remains the largest award to date against the Madison, N.J.-based company, which faces about 5,300 similar lawsuits across the country in state and federal courts.
All involve the drugs Premarin, an estrogen replacement, and Prempro, a combination of estrogen and progestin. The drugs are prescribed to women to ease symptoms of menopause.
The jurors returned at 1 p.m. Monday, two hours after they began deliberations following an impassioned plea by one of the plaintiffs lawyers to return a large enough judgment to "get the attention and hold responsible" a company with a net worth of $14.6 billion.
