5th Cir. Overturns $502 Million Verdict in Pinnacle Hip Cases; Orders New Trial

NEW ORLEANS — A federal appeals court has ordered a new consolidated trial in five cases involving allegedly defective Pinnacle hip implants, ruling that DePuy Orthopaedics and Johnson & Johnson were prejudiced by the trial court’s “serious evidentiary errors.”

Specifically, in the April 25 opinion, the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals found the Northern District of Texas improperly allowed plaintiffs’ counsel to make repeated references to a deferred prosecution agreement involving bribes paid by non-party J&J affiliates to the Iraqi government. The appellate court further found that plaintiffs’ counsel improperly failed to disclose that two of the plaintiffs’ experts …