For the second time this year, appellate lawyers at O’Melveny & Myers have wiped out a huge jury verdict against Johnson & Johnson Inc. and a subsidiary over their marketing of the antipsychotic drug Risperdal. The reversals are a blow to plaintiffs firm Bailey Peavy Bailey, which has now seen $250 million in attorney fee awards go up in smoke.
The Arkansas Supreme Court vacated on Thursday a $1.2 billion jury verdict that the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office won in a suit alleging that J&J and subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. didn’t properly communicate Risperdal’s risks and illegally marketed it for off-label uses. The court also set aside a $181 million fee award for Bailey Peavy Bailey, which handled the case on the state’s behalf.
