Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
A federal jury in New Jersey found in favor of former sales representatives turned whistleblowers who claimed Janssen Products promoted HIV drugs off-label. All told, the verdict could result in Janssen facing more than $1 billion, one of the largest False Claims Act verdicts, partner Pete Marketos said.
A federal jury in New Jersey found Janssen Products violated the federal False Claims Act by unlawfully promoting Prezista or Intelence. But the jury found Janssen did not violate the Anti-Kickback Statute.
C. Gregory Shamoun of Shamoun & Norman, who represented 13MC in the trial, told The Texas Lawbook in a recent interview that from the beginning, he tried to “keep it simple” for the jury that was given what he said was “one of the most complex” charges he’s seen in 35 years of practicing law. It took the 12-person jury that heard a week of testimony about three hours on Monday to determine Megatel waived its right of first refusal to purchase the property from 13MC via a breach of contract.
A federal jury in Dallas decided Michaels Stores did not infringe on a small business’ paint-by-numbers art kit or engage in unfair competition. Dallas lawyers with Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr took the case less than three months before the trial began.
A settlement has been reached in the state’s first trial alleging Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder contained cancer-causing asbestos. Also on Tuesday, 43 states including Texas, reached a $700 million settlement with J&J, ending claims that the company was deceptively marketing its talc powder products as safe.
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, U.S. District Judge Ada Brown gets her first crack at handling multidistrict litigation after 12 putative class action lawsuits over the AT&T data breach are transferred to her, the former president of a Texas energy company goes to prison and a trio of attorneys representing Southwest Airlines gets a stay on an order that they undergo religious liberty training.
Litigators dominate the latest applications for the new business court judgeships, public records show. In the coming weeks, Gov. Greg Abbott will exercise his new power to select jurists to handle the new court’s docket of complex corporate governance and transactional disputes. A drafter of the legislation to create the specialized court system makes the case for ‘sit down’ lawyers to throw their names in the hat.
Houston-based pulmonologist Dr. Steven Haber testified for about 14 hours over two days in Texas’ first Johnson & Johnson baby powder trial. The case is also the state’s first talc trial, lawyers said.
The Texas Lawbook's Krista Torralva has the latest details from inside the courtroom.
© Copyright 2025 The Texas Lawbook
The content on this website is protected under federal Copyright laws. Any use without the consent of The Texas Lawbook is prohibited.