We are still trying to get our hands on the opinion [update – here it is], but we understand that the $1.2 billion verdict for the State of Arkansas over marketing of the antipsychotic drug Risperdal has been reversed. We told you in our summary of the top cases of 2013 that we were following this appeal. Because we cannot yet quote from the Arkansas Supreme Court, we quote from an equally august group, ourselves. In touting the reversal of a very similar suit in Louisiana based on the criticisms we had made about the lower court decision, including basically presuming injury and causation from an allegedly misleading communication, we said “We hope that other courts will follow the lead of the Louisiana Supreme Court in requiring that plaintiffs prove the claims they assert. Even statutes with avowed remedial purposes are not supposed to be mere vehicles for ringing up damages against deep pockets defendants. We also hope that the state AGs who outsource their work to plaintiff lawyers, or other governmental lawyers who get in bed with plaintiff lawyers in the hopes of big settlements and verdicts, give a little more thought to the process going forward.” It looks like the Arkansas Supreme Court did its part. Now for the state AGs to get the message.
