A Santa Clara County jury on Monday ordered Pfizer to pay $38 million to a leading San Bruno medical research firm for stealing trade secrets to develop a pain relief drug that eventually was taken off the market. Concluding a six-week trial, the Superior Court jury also found that Pfizer and a former employee of the research firm could be liable for punitive damages, which could triple the judgment and catapult the verdict beyond $100 million. Judge Gregory Ward, who presided over the trial, will eventually decide the punitive damage amount.
