Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was rebuffed by the US Supreme Court Tuesday over a US$302mln judgment in a lawsuit brought by the state of California that accused the company of deliberately hiding the risk of pelvic mesh.
The court refused to hear the case, following the judgment reached in San Diego Superior Court from the 2016 suit.
The pharmaceutical company tried to convince the Supreme Court that California had overly vague consumer protection laws, which made companies vulnerable to state lawsuits.
In a statement, the company said the decision will result in "uneven, unclear, and unfair enforcement that harms consumers and businesses”.
J&J has been under fire for its pelvic mesh products for some time. The 2016 case was the end result of an investigation across multiple states into the marketing of the products by Ethicon, a J&J subsidiary.
The company has also been hit with multiple private lawsuits from customers alleging urinary issues, pain, bleeding and other serious injuries. J&J has paid some US$8n in settlements, but the New Jersey-based company has denied wrongdoing.
J&J stopped selling its pelvic mesh devices in 2019, the same year that the US Food and Drug Administration prohibited their sale.
Shares fell 1.5% to US$158 in New York on Tuesday.
Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com
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