N.J. Law Applies to Punitive Damages Claim in Aredia/Zometa Case, Fla. Judge Rules

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – New Jersey law applies to the punitive damages claim in an Aredia/Zometa injury case because Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp.’s (NYSE: NVS) alleged failure to warn occurred at its place of business in New Jersey, a Florida federal judge has ruled.

In a Feb. 27 order, Chief Judge M. Casey Rodgers of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida reasoned that although the alleged injuries occurred in Florida, the alleged misconduct to be punished by a punitive damage award, Novartis’s decisions as to the labeling, packaging, and warning of the drugs, occurred in New Jersey.

“New …