Wyeth v. Rowatt

Decision Date24 November 2010
Docket NumberNo. 51234.,51234.
Citation244 P.3d 765
PartiesWYETH, A Delaware Corporation, and its Divisions and Subsidiaries; and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Delaware Corporation, and its Divisions and Subsidiaries, Appellants, v. Arlene ROWATT; Wendell Forrester, Duly Appointed Special Administrator for the Estate of Pamela Forrester; and Jeraldine Scofield, Respondents.
CourtNevada Supreme Court

Lewis & Roca LLP and Daniel F. Polsenberg and Joel D. Henriod, Las Vegas; Williams & Connolly LLP and F. Lane Heard III and Heidi Hubbard, Washington, D.C.; Winston & Strawn LLP and Dan K. Webb, Chicago, IL, for Appellants.

Peter Chase Neumann, Reno; White & Wetherall, LLP, and Geoffrey P. White and Peter C. Wetherall, Reno; Littlepage Booth and Zoe Littlepage and Rainey Booth, Houston, TX, for Respondents.

Law Office of Matthew L. Sharp and Matthew L. Sharp, Reno; Center for Constitutional Litigation, P.C., and Robert S. Peck, Washington, D.C., for Amicus Curiae Nevada Justice Association.

Before the Court En Banc.1

OPINION

By the Court, CHERRY, J.:

This case arises from personal injury and strict products liability actions filed by respondents against appellants after respondents took appellants' drugs for years and were subsequently diagnosed with breast cancer. The matter was presented to a jury, with the assessment of damages being bifurcated, as respondents also sought punitive damages against appellants. A verdict was rendered in respondents' favor, awarding compensatory and punitive damages. On appellants' motion, the district court decreased the amount of damages but denied appellants' motion for a new trial and judgment as a matter of law.2

In this appeal, we are asked to decide three main issues. First, we must determine whether the district court erred in finding that Nevada law applied to the underlying action because respondents were diagnosed with cancer in Nevada. We agree with the district court's conclusion, and we adopt the "last event necessary" analysis to determine choice of law when an injury involves a slow-developing disease, such as cancer, and under that analysis the last event necessary for a claim against a tortfeasor is the place where the plaintiff becomes ill.

Second, we are asked to decide whether the district court abused its discretion when it gave a substantial-factor causation instruction, rather than a but-for causation instruction, and when it subsequently modified the instruction. We agree with appellants that the district court abused its discretion when it gave a substantial-factor causation instruction because each party argued its own theory of causation, mutually exclusive of the other, and respondents' injuries were purportedly only caused by one act. Nevertheless, the error was harmless, as appellants failed to demonstrate that their substantial rights were affected so that, but for the error, a different result may have been reached. The district court's modification of the instruction was not an abuse of discretion as it tailored the instruction to comply with existing scientific consensus, consistent with the evidence presented at trial.

Third, we address whether the compensatory and punitive damages awards are supported by substantial evidence and are excessive, even after the district court reduced the amount of the awards. Both awards are supported by substantial evidence. As to the compensatory damages, the awards do not shock our conscience and, thus, are not excessive. Regarding the punitive damages awards, the amounts awarded do not violate appellants' due process rights, as the awards are reasonable and proportionate to appellants' actions, or lack thereof. Finally, although the jury improperly and prematurely deliberated punitive damages, the error was cured by the jury's redeliberation and the district court's subsequent granting of the remittitur. Because we perceive no reversible errors in the issues raised on appeal, we affirm the district court's judgment.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Respondents Arlene Rowatt, Pamela Forrester, and Jeraldine Scofield all took hormone replacement therapy drugs for a number of years and later developed breast cancer.3 The specific hormone replacement drugs prescribed to respondents were in one of two forms: two pills—one estrogen pill and one progestin pill, or a single pill that combined both hormones. Appellants Wyeth and Wyeth Pharmaceutical, Inc., manufactured and sold the estrogen pill known as Premarin, which was combined with a progestin pill manufactured by a different pharmaceutical company. Wyeth also manufactured the combination hormone pill known as Prempro.

Respondents Rowatt and Scofield were prescribed the two-pill hormone medication when they lived in other states. Rowatt was later prescribed Prempro. After moving to Nevada, and while still on the medication, both women were diagnosed with breast cancer. Respondent Forrester, a Nevada resident, was originally prescribed the two-pill regimen before switching to a Prempro prescription. Before being diagnosed with cancer, respondent Forrester switched to another manufacturer's estrogen-based hormone product.

In 2004, each woman filed a personal injury and strict products liability suit against Wyeth in the district court.4 The three cases were subsequently consolidated and set for trial. Because respondents also alleged punitive damages claims against Wyeth, the trial was bifurcated into two phases. In the first phase, the jury was to determine whether Wyeth was liable for respondents' injuries and the amount of any compensatory damages. The jury was also asked to consider whether Wyeth acted with malice or committed fraud, and if the jury made either finding, a second trial would be conducted to determine the amount of punitive damages, if any, to award respondents.

Respondents had three main theories of liability that they presented to the jury. First, they contended that Wyeth's failure to study the estrogen-progestin combination was a legal cause of their cancer because Wyeth had knowledge that hormone-receptive organs, such as breast tissue, responded to the introduction of additional hormones in the body, and Wyeth allegedly failed to reasonably test the estrogen-progestin combination based on that knowledge. Second, respondents argued that Wyeth failed to adequately warn them and their physicians about the breast cancer risk associated with the estrogen-progestin combination. Third, respondents alleged that Wyeth's drugs were unreasonably dangerous because they could cause breast cancer and respondents purportedly developed breast cancer as a result of taking the estrogen-progestin combination. Based on these same theories, respondents asserted that Wyeth acted with malice, so as to warrant the award of punitive damages.

At trial, respondents offered evidence of Wyeth's development of Premarin and Prempro and various independent studies of the drugs. The evidence was presented to the jury to establish that Wyeth's knowledge that there was a potential increased risk of breast cancer, combined with its failure to conduct its own studies to determine the precise risk, was a legal cause of respondents' cancers. We begin by examining Premarin's and Prempro's history in conjunction with independent studies.

The development of hormone replacement therapy

In 1942, Wyeth introduced Premarin, an estrogen hormone used to treat menopausal symptoms. By the 1970s, the medical community had recognized a potential link between the use of estrogen and endometrial cancer. Wyeth's Premarin sales dropped. In 1976, Wyeth's internal documents showthat its researchers knew that the presence of both estrogen and progestin in a tumor indicates that the tumor had responded to hormones. In the late 1970s, a published scientific article recommended adding progestin to an estrogen regimen to avoid the risk of developing endometrial cancer. Consequently, physicians began prescribing estrogen and progestin. Respondents' physicians prescribed them Wyeth's Premarin with another manufacturer's progestin.

In 1983, Wyeth sought approval from the FDA to study and market the combination of estrogen and progestin. The FDA allowed Wyeth to study the drugs' combination, but rejected its application to market the drugs together. The FDA specifically told Wyeth that a large, long-term study was first needed to evaluate the drug combination's safety. An internal Wyeth document shows, however, that the company viewed such studies as costly and lengthy, with unpredictable results. In 1988, Wyeth was approached for funding to conduct a study that consisted of reviewing data of women who had already been taking estrogen and progestin for a number of years. Wyeth declined to fund the study. In fact, Wyeth's documents showed that it had a company policy of not supporting breast cancer studies.

Starting in the late 1980s and early 1990s, independent studies were published that linked an increase in breast cancer risk to the estrogen-progestin hormone therapy regimen. For example, in 1989, a study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine that showed a 4.4 relative risk 5 of breast cancer in premenopausal women. The study characterized the risk as a "slightly increased risk of breast cancer" among women who took estrogen plus progestin for a long time. The 1989 study was followed by another study shortly thereafter confirming those results. In 1990, another independent study showed an increased risk of developing breast cancer when the hormone therapy regimen was estrogen plus progestin. Internal Wyeth documents show that it responded to studies suggesting a possible breast cancer risk by downplaying the risk through public relations campaigns and its sales representatives' interactions with physicians. Wyeth also created an internal task force to counteract such findings.

In 1992, the FDA's advisory commit tee noted that there was insufficient data to determine whether adding progestin to estrogen...

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