The U.S. Supreme Court won't hear an appeal from Pfizer's Wyeth unit of a ruling in a Nevada hormone-therapy lawsuit. The case involved three women who claimed they developed breast cancer after using Wyeth's Premarin and Prempro. They were awarded $58 million as a result.
The jury rendered verdicts for the the three women Plaintiffs in the amount of $134 million, but the judge said the size of the award was excessive and reduced it to $58 million. While arguing in front of the Supreme Court, lawyers for the company maintained the judge should have ordered a new trial instead of reducing the award. The company also contended the jury was influenced by an "improper and inflammatory" closing argument by Plaintiffs' counsel.
The petition to the Supreme Court followed lower court/appellate court wrangling. The Nevada Supreme Court on appeal rules that jurors properly held Pfizer’s Wyeth unit responsible for hiding the breast-cancer risks of its Premarin and Prempro menopause drugs.
