Schedin v. Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Plaintiff sued OMJP and others for failing to warn adequately of the risk of tendon rupture in patients who, like plaintiff, were elderly and taking concomitant corticosteroids. A jury found OMJP primarily liable, awarding plaintiff compensatory and punitive damages. OMJP appealed the district court's denial of its motions for judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) and a new trial. The court held that the district court did not err in denying OMJP's motions for JMOL or a new trial based on the jury's award of compensatory damages where the district court found sufficient evidence of causation, reasoning that the jury finding was not against the preponderance of the evidence. The evidence was neither clear nor convincing, as a matter of law, that OMJP deliberately disregarded the safety of the users of Levaquin. Accordingly, the district court erred in denying JMOL for OMJP on punitive damages. View "Schedin v. Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc." on Justia Law