As seen in this article, “On November 6, 2012, the New Jersey Supreme Court denied plaintiffs’ Petition for Certification of Judgment in favor of Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation and awarded costs to Novartis. Bessemer v. Novartis Pharm. Corp., No. A-2069-10T1 (N.J. Nov. 6, 2012). Novartis was represented in Bessemer by Joe G. Hollingsworth, Katharine R. Latimer, Rebecca A. Womeldorf, and Neil S. Bromberg of Hollingsworth LLP in Washington, D.C., and Beth Rose of Sills Cummis & Gross P.C. in Newark, New Jersey.
On October 6, 2010, the trial court entered judgment for Novartis following a defense verdict in the first bellwether trial arising out of the Aredia/Zometa consolidated litigation in New Jersey state court, and the New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed on June 13, 2012. Bessemer v. Novartis Pharm. Corp., No. A-2069-10T1, 2012 WL 2120777 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. June 13, 2012). In Bessemer, the jury returned, after only two hours of deliberation, a complete defense verdict on plaintiffs’ only remaining failure to warn claim by answering ‘no’ to the question: ‘Did Novartis fail to provide an adequate warning to Mrs. Bessemer’s prescribing physician concerning the risks of jaw problems from Aredia and/or Zometa that Novartis either knew or should have known prior to Mrs. Bessemer discontinuing use of the drug(s)?’”
