J&J gets $1.2 billion Arkansas Risperdal judgment tossed out

Johnson & Johnson on Thursday won a reversal by the Arkansas Supreme Court of a $1.2 billion judgment imposed after a jury concluded that the drugmaker improperly marketed its anti-psychotic drug Risperdal and concealed its risks. The penalty had been imposed in April 2012, one day after a jury in Little Rock, Arkansas, found that Johnson & Johnson and its Janssen Pharmaceuticals unit violated state laws governing Medicaid fraud and deceptive trade practices. Arkansas' highest court, however, said the jury verdict and subsequent award could not stand because Arkansas had relied on the wrong law to sue Johnson & Johnson, using a law covering healthcare facilities rather than drug companies.