Wyeth asks judge to cut $134M award

Please judge, don't make us pay...$134 million. Wyeth lawyers asked a judge to cut a jury award in a trial over the company's hormone replacement drugs. Jurors had awarded three Nevada women $134 million, an amount the company called "excessive and arbitrary," asking for it to be slashed to $4 million. The women's lawyer, however, said that the award showed "appropriate outrage."

The women sued Wyeth in 2004 over Premarin and Prempro, saying the company didn't adequately test the drugs or warn of their risks. Wyeth's lawyer said it conducted many studies of Prempro, and besides, there was no evidence to show the company behaved in a "reprehensible" manner, which is a factor in determining punitive damages. In this case, the jury awarded $99 million in punitive damages. Plus, the lawyer said, this $134 million award dwarfs the amounts other juries have given women in similar cases; previous juries have awarded $1 million to $2.4 million.

- see the report from the Reno Gazette-Journal
- get more from the San Diego Union-Tribune

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