Federal Judge Reverses Punitive Damages Award in HRT Case

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - An Arkansas federal judge on July 8 reversed a $27 million punitive damages award to a plaintiff who contracted breast cancer after taking hormone replacement therapy drugs manufactured by Wyeth and Pharmacia & Upjohn. Scroggin v. Wyeth, et al., No. 04-1169 (E.D. Ark.).

After reviewing the evidence, Judge William R. Wilson, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas ruled that it failed to establish that the drug manufacturers recklessly and maliciously failed to properly test their HRT drugs and issue adequate warnings concerning potential side effects.

"Plaintiff's burden was to …