Eighth Circuit Rules Against Manufacturer of Cancer Drugs due to Failure to Warn

February 10, 2014. The Eighth Circuit has ruled against pharmaceutical giant Novartis in a lawsuit brought by the estate of a woman who acquired a degenerative bone disease after taking two cancer drugs, Aredia and Zometa. According to the Eighth Circuit, Novartis failed to warn about the links between the drugs and osteonecrosis, a disease which essentially leads to bone death due to poor blood supply. In the case, Winter v. Novartis, the deceased woman acquired osteonecrosis in her jaw after having two teeth extracted. The jury awarded her estate $225,000 in compensatory damages but did not award any punitive damages. One of the key issues on appeal was whether New Jersey or Missouri law applied to the plaintiff’s claim for punitive damages. If New Jersey law applied (Novartis is a New Jersey corporation), no punitive damages could be awarded. However, if Missouri law applied (the injury occurred in Missouri, to a Missouri resident), punitive damages could be awarded. While the jury did not award any punitive damages, Novartis argued that the evidence submitted to the jury on the punitive damages claim tainted the jury’s review of other issues. The Eighth Circuit disagreed, ruling that Missouri law governed the issue because Missouri’s interest in protecting its citizens from injury, and related interest in deterring harmful conduct by foreign manufacturers doing business in Missouri, outweighed New Jersey’s interest in having its corporations governed by New Jersey’s punitive damages laws. A copy of the Eighth Circuit’s opinion can be found here.

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