A South Carolina trial court judge has awarded the State of South Carolina over $327 million in penalties against Janssen related to the marketing of Risperdal, an antipsychotic medication.

In late March 2011, a Spartanburg, South Carolina jury returned a verdict against Janssen, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, finding that the company willfully engaged in unfair and deceptive trade practices in connection with the Risperdal label and a Dear Doctor letter submitted by the company in 2003.

In a 17-page Order handed down June 3, 2011, Circuit Court Judge Roger Couch ruled that the company be required to pay over $327 million in civil penalties resulting from these violations.  The Court found that Janssen "exhibited a callous disregard to a patient's right to have all possible information available" and maintained a "profit at all costs mentality."  The Court also found that Janssen acted in "extreme bad faith" and promulgated a "conscious effort to deceive [South Carolinians]."

Articles discussing the South Carolina trial can be found here:

http://www.legalnewsline.com/news/231805-s.c.-wins-risperdal-case-damages-to-be-determined

http://info.courtroomview.com/Blog/bid/55806/South-Carolina-Prevails-in-Risperdal-Overcharge-Trial

John Simmons of Simmons Law Firm, LLC in Columbia, South Carolina represented the State of South Carolina, together with John White and Don Coggins of Harrison, White, Smith & Coggins of Spartanburg, South Carolina and Fletcher Trammell of Bailey, Perrin, and Bailey, Houston, Texas.