Jury amends $134.5-million judgment in Wyeth case

A Nevada jury on Friday slashed nearly $100 million from a judgment against pharmaceutical giant Wyeth after it conceded a previous award was improper because it was intended to punish the company for its hormone replacement drugs.

Washoe District Judge Robert Perry instructed the five-man, two-woman jury to reconsider a $134.5-million compensatory award issued Wednesday after questions were raised about whether the judgment included punitive damages.

Perry said the matter was brought to his attention by a bailiff, who overheard discussion in the jury room.

“If we don’t correct it now, we’ll be trying this case again,” the judge said.

After deliberating for about three hours, jurors on Friday awarded $35 million to three women for past and future medical expenses, as well as physical and emotional pain and suffering.

The women claimed the company’s hormone replacement drugs caused their breast cancer.

Jurors will return Monday to consider awarding punitive damages.

Perry twice denied a motion by Wyeth lawyer Dan Webb to declare a mistrial over the jury’s confusion. Webb argued that the jury was predisposed to punish the company before the punitive phase of the trial had begun.

The judge said jurors raised questions expressing their confusion during the initial deliberations, but Wyeth lawyers wouldn’t allow an explanation.

The jury deliberated for two days this week before reaching its initial verdict.

The judgment is the largest award to date against the Madison, N.J.-based company, which faces about 5,300 similar lawsuits across the country in state and federal courts. All involve the drugs Premarin, an estrogen replacement, and Prempro, a combination of estrogen and progestin. The drugs are prescribed to women to ease symptoms of menopause.

Under the revised judgment, the jury awarded $10.5 million to Jeraldine Scofield, 74, of Fallon.; $12 million to Arlene Rowatt, 67, of Incline Village; and $12.5 million to Pamela Forrester, 65, of Yerington.