New Trial Ordered Where Jury's Verdict Didn't "Gel"

Last summer, we reported on a bizarre verdict in which an Illinois jury levied a $150 million punitive damages award against AbbVie, Inc., the drug company behind AndroGel, without awarding any compensatory damages.  As predicted, the punitive damages award was recently vacated.  Finding that the jury's findings were "logically incompatible," the Court vacated the punitive damages award, and ordered a new trial on plaintiff's claim for fraudulent misrepresentation and damages relating to that claim.

As previously reported, this case is one of thousands in which plaintiffs have alleged that AndroGel caused heart attack or other injury, that AndroGel was not safe and effective for treating low testosterone, and that AbbVie promoted AndroGel to men who did not actually have low testosterone.  In this particular case, AbbVie's defense was that AndroGel could not have been linked to plaintiff's heart attack because the scientific studies relied on by plaintiff did not