Robert J. Boumis  |  March 27, 2014

Category: Legal News

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

Risperdal settlementEven as Risperdal maker Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. faces lawsuit allegations that the drug can cause enlarged male breast growth, the manufacturers have gotten one of the largest judgements against them reversed.

Last year, Johnson & Johnson,the parent company of Janssen, was fined $1.2 billion by an Arkansas court over marketing practices related to Risperdal. It has been alleged that Johnson & Johnson illegally marketed the drug for off-label purposes. However, this is a separate issue from the Risperdal lawsuits and a Risperdal class action lawsuit the manufacturers are facing over male breast growth.

Federal law permits physicians to prescribe drugs for purposes other than the ones they were approved for. However, it is illegal for drug companies to promote their drugs for any purpose other than the ones these companies have sought approval for.

Risperdal was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and aggression/irritability associated with autism. However, it has been alleged that the company promoted the drug for other disorders.

The Arkansas State Supreme Court ruled on March 20 that lower courts had applied the laws improperly. The Court did not rule that Johnson & Johnson had acted within the law, but instead ruled that the Court had applied the law and fine incorrectly.

The Louisiana State Supreme Court threw out a similar Risperdal settlement in January of 2013 on similar grounds. Janssen is still facing a $5.9 million Risperdal settlement reached earlier this year, and a $2.2 billion Risperdal settlement reached in November.

But this is not the only legal action Johnson & Johnson is facing over Risperdal. In addition, to the accusations that the company suppressed information about the risks associated with the drug, particularly the growth of male breasts or “man boobs,” a condition doctors call gynecomastia. Dozens, if not hundreds of individual Risperdal lawsuits have been filed over this issue. Multiple Risperdal class action lawsuits have also been filed.

However, the individual lawsuits could be consolidated into a type of group lawsuit called a multidistrict litigation or MDL, also known as a “Mass Tort.” MDLs are similar to the more familiar type of lawsuit, the class action lawsuit. However, in a Risperdal class action lawsuit, a single group of plaintiffs join together and file a single large lawsuit.

Mass torts are made up of many individual personal injury lawsuits that are filed across different federal districts, initially unconnected. However, certain legal proceedings can condense them into a single legal proceeding called an MDL. Among the differences between a Risperdal class action lawsuit and Risperdal mass tort lawsuit filed in an MDL is that the individual cases within an MDL remain somewhat distinct from each other.

The Risperdal settlement reversed on March 20 was from the Risperdal lawsuit titled Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceutics Incorporate v. State of Arkansas, Case No. 2007-15345, filed in the Arkansas Supreme Court.

In general, Risperdal lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.

Do YOU have a legal claim? Fill out the form on this page now for a free, immediate, and confidential case evaluation. The attorneys who work with Top Class Actions will contact you if you qualify to let you know if an individual lawsuit or class action lawsuit is best for you. Hurry — statutes of limitations may apply.

Learn More

We tell you about cash you can claim EVERY WEEK! Sign up for our free newsletter.


Get Help – It’s Free

Join a Free Risperdal Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you or your son took Risperdal between the ages of 10 and 18 years old and suffered gynecomastia (male breast growth), male breast pain, nipple pain, or nipple discharge, you may be entitled to compensation. See if you qualify by submitting your information below for a free and confidential case review.

An attorney will contact you if you qualify to discuss the details of your potential case at no charge to you.

Oops! We could not locate your form.

Please note: Top Class Actions is not a settlement administrator or law firm. Top Class Actions is a legal news source that reports on class action lawsuits, class action settlements, drug injury lawsuits and product liability lawsuits. Top Class Actions does not process claims and we cannot advise you on the status of any class action settlement claim. You must contact the settlement administrator or your attorney for any updates regarding your claim status, claim form or questions about when payments are expected to be mailed out.