Janssen's $2.5M Risperdal Verdict Appeal Declined

Introduction

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and its subsidiaries, Janssen Pharmaceutical, appeal to reverse the $2.5 million gynecomastia verdict against its drug Risperdal has been turned down by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

The plaintiff from Alabama, now 20, started taking Risperdal for autism from the age of 8. He claimed the powerful antipsychotic drug was the reason for his gynecomastia, a condition characterized by the permanent development of female-like breasts in men and boys. Pennsylvania State Court jury awarded $2.5 million in compensatory damages in February 2015 to the plaintiff after finding that the defendants failed to warn about the side effects associated with the drug. The plaintiff was barred from seeking punitive damages as the defendants are headquartered in New Jersey, which prohibits punitive damages in product liability claims involving federally-approved medications.

J&J had raised an argument to overturn the verdict, which was rejected in October 2018, by the Pennsylvania Superior Court. Following the rejection, the defendants turned to the state Supreme Court hoping for a reversal. But on August 2nd, the justices refused to hear the case.

Around 7,000 gynecomastia lawsuits are pending in the Pennsylvania mass tort program. Two coordinated actions have been filed for Risperdal cases: one in Los Angeles Superior Court (Risperdal and Invega Product Liability Cases, JCCP 4775, presided by Honorable William Highberger) and the other in Philadelphia (In Re: Risperdal Litigation, March 2010 Term, Case No. 100300296).

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