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Saturday, October 04, 2003Perhaps the most notable jury award in Jefferson County — a poor black county of less than 10,000 residents — was $150 million given to five plaintiffs in 1999 against the makers of the diet drug fen-phen. The case was eventually settled with more than 800 other fen-phen cases for a reported $400 million. In nearby Claiborne County, jurors in 2001 returned a $100-million award against Johnson & Johnson stemming from the heartburn drug Propulsid. ... At least two drugstores in the area have been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury looking for patient information and possibly forged prescription records. Investigators from the state Attorney General's Office reportedly contacted former jurors who sued the CBS newsmagazine "60 Minutes" after it aired a segment last November called "Jackpot Justice." It featured former Fayette florist Beau Strittman, the recipient of an undisclosed settlement from the makers of the obesity drug Redux, who said juries had "awarded these people this money because they felt as if they were going to get a cut off of it." ... More than a half-dozen lawsuits have been filed against several of the lawyers who went after the drug maker. The lawyers being sued — Michael Gallagher of Houston and Dennis Sweet, Shane Langston, Richard Freese and Richard Schwartz — led the fen-phen litigation. Two of the lawsuits contend Mr. Schwartz signed up fake clients to increase the lawyer's portion from the settlements. Ben Skipper, Mr. Schwartz's attorney, called the accusations "completely baseless." A Jackson State University employee, Kenneth Kennedy, claims he referred 70 users of the drugs fen-phen, Propulsid and Rezulin to Mr. Sweet for $150,000, plus expenses. Mr. Kennedy said he was never paid. posted by Sydney on 10/04/2003 08:55:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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