Pa. Law Applies to Punitive Damages Claim in Prempro Case, N.Y. Judge Rules

NEW YORK — Pennsylvania, rather than New Jersey, law applies to a punitive damages claim in a Prempro case because the defendant, Wyeth, is a Pennsylvania resident and the relevant inquiry is focused on the defendant, a New York federal judge has ruled.

On Aug. 20, Judge Joanna Seybert of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York further determined that New Jersey governs plaintiffs’ substantive claims because the plaintiff was prescribed Prempro, filled her prescription, and took Prempro all in New Jersey.

New Jersey residents Ellen and Stewart Golden allege that Ellen’s ingestion of Prempro from …