N.J. Law Precludes Punitive Damages Claim in Aredia Case, Fla. Federal Judge Rules

TAMPA, Fla. — A punitive damages claim asserted in an Aredia/Zometa injury case is governed by New Jersey, rather than Florida, law and must therefore be dismissed because New Jersey shields drug makers from punitive damages, a Florida federal judge has ruled.

On June 16, Judge Susan C. Bucklew of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida concluded that New Jersey law applies because that state has a greater interest in regulating the conduct of a New Jersey business and therefore has a more significant relationship to the punitive damages issue.

Donald Kirchman and his wife were …