HOUSTON — The Lanier Law Firm achieved four of the nation’s largest jury verdicts in the past five years, as reported in the National Law Journal’s new publication of the “Top Hall of Fame Verdicts.”
The firm garnered the largest jury award on the prestigious list for a $4.69 billion verdict in Missouri state court in July 2018 on behalf of 22 women alleging that their frequent use of Johnson & Johnson’s talc-based powders led to ovarian cancer. Although subsequently reduced to a $2.1 billion award by an appellate court for certain jurisdictional reasons, Ingham v. Johnson & Johnson still ranks as the nation’s largest in the wrongful death litigation category during this time period.
The firm also secured the third-, fourth- and eighth-largest jury awards between 2015 and 2019 in the category of product liability. Each verdict stemmed from bellwether trials in federal multidistrict litigation in the Northern District of Texas and were based on the claims of individuals who suffered a variety of debilitating physical problems after receiving metal-on-metal hip implants manufactured by DePuy Orthopaedics Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.
The cases are Metzler v. Depuy, in which the jury awarded $1.04 billion to six plaintiffs in December 2016; Greer v. Depuy, in which the jury awarded $502 million to five plaintiffs in March 2016; and a $247 million verdict on behalf of six plaintiffs in Alicea v. Depuy in November 2017.
In each of the trials, plaintiffs alleged that the devices, marketed under the Pinnacle brand, had unreasonably high failure rates resulting in severe pain and inflammation, bone erosion, tissue loss and other problems. The victims further claimed that DePuy’s design was defective; the company failed to give adequate warnings; and Johnson & Johnson aided and abetted in misrepresentations that rose to the level of fraud.
The complete listing of the National Law Journal Verdicts Hall of Fame can be found here.
About the Lanier Law Firm
For more than 30 years, the men and women at The Lanier Law Firm have worked tirelessly, throughout the United States, to find unique and effective solutions for their clients. More than 60 skilled attorneys practice law in a broad array of areas, including business litigation, pharmaceutical litigation, asbestos exposure, oil and gas litigation, personal injury as well as defective and dangerous products, among others. Named an Elite Trial Law Firm by The National Law Journal, The Lanier Law Firm has offices in Houston, New York and Los Angeles.
