Kaye Scholer Wins Appeal of Top Defense Verdict

On February 27, the California Court of Appeal unanimously affirmed the judgment in favor of our client Novartis Consumer Health, Inc. in O'Neill and Lutz v. Novartis Consumer Health, Inc. after a four-month jury trial involving two plaintiffs who claimed they suffered strokes from products containing phenylpropanolamine (PPA). The Court found that the jury could properly consider the FDA's action or nonaction in determining whether the drugs were safe and that the standards in California for determining the admissibility of new scientific techniques did not apply to limit the defense challenge to the conduct of a published, peer-reviewed study at the heart of plaintiffs' case. The dual trial verdicts were recognized by the National Law Journal as one of the top 10 defense verdicts of 2004. The team responsible for the appellate victory includes Randolph Sherman, Aton Arbisser (who argued the appeal), and Joshua Stambaugh.