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20 février, 2008 20:08
Judge Slashes $134 Mil. Judgment to Women in Wyeth Case
A judge in Reno has slashed a $134 million judgment awarded to three Nevada women by a jury that decided a drug made by the giant pharmaceutical company Wyeth caused their breast cancer.
Washoe County District Court Judge Robert Perry granted the drug-maker's motion Tuesday to find the damages excessive. He ordered the award reduced to about $58 million total -- $23 million in compensatory and $35 million in punitive damages.
The reduced judgment is still the largest personal injury award ever issued in Nevada. It also remains the largest award to date against the New Jersey--based company, which faces about 5,300 similar lawsuits across the country in state and federal courts.
The judge said the jury's original judgment of $35 million in compensatory and $99 million in punitive suggested the amounts were "the result of passion and prejudice."
The company welcomed the ruling but says it still intends to appeal the verdict to the Nevada Supreme Court.
Peter Wetherall, a lawyer for the women, says the three are still heroes who deserve credit for publicizing the gravity of Wyeth's actions.
