Judge Cuts $500 Million Verdict Over Johnson & Johnson Hip Implants

A U.S. judge has slashed a $500 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson and its DePuy unit over allegedly defective metal-on-metal Pinnacle hip implants to approximately $151 million.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade in the Northern District of Texas said he was compelled to reduce the verdict under a Texas state law limiting punitive damages according to a specific formula.

In March, the five plaintiffs and three of their spouses had been collectively awarded roughly $360 million in punitive damages, along with $140 million in compensatory damages, following a two-month trial.
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