The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Friday, June 22 issued a decision that will negatively affect pharmaceutical companies doing business in Wisconsin. In the process, the Court enriched outside plaintiff attorneys hired by the State by awarding large attorney fees.

The Court’s decision, State of Wisconsin v. Abbot Laboratories, et al., 2012 WI 62, is the latest in a number of cases pending in state and federal courts involving allegations that pharmaceutical companies reported inflated drug prices, causing states to overpay for Medicaid recipients’ prescription drugs.

In a 4-0 decision authored by Justice Michael Gableman and joined by Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson and Justices Patience Roggensack and Annette Ziegler, the Court upheld the lower court’s verdict finding the company in this specific case, Pharmacia Corporation, liable for violating Wisconsin’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA) and the Medicaid fraud statute. Justices Patrick Crooks, David Prosser, and Ann Walsh Bradley did not participate.

The decision is notable because in 2009 the Alabama Supreme Court overwhelmingly (8-1) rejected a similar lawsuit brought by Alabama Attorney General Troy King and the privately retained attorneys hired by the State.[i] Continue reading “Supreme Court Deals a Blow to Pharmaceutical Companies; Enriches Private Plaintiff Attorneys Hired by State” →