Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Arnold New has issued a ruling granting a defense motion that would bar plaintiffs filing Risperdal lawsuits from seeking punitive damages against Johnson & Johnson.

In an order issued on May 2, Judge New ruled that the New Jersey Product Liability Act, which bars punitive damages in cases that involve medications approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), would apply to the Risperdal lawsuits. This would also remove the possibility that Risperdal maker Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, would face substantially higher punitive damages designed to punish reckless and grossly negligent behavior alleged in the Risperdal lawsuits.

Risperdal patients argued that Pennsylvania law should be applied to the gynecomastia lawsuits, which would allow punitive damages. Judge New stressed that Janssen Pharmaceuticals, which develops and sells Risperdal, is a New Jersey defendant. New Jersey law prohibits punitive damages in claims involving medications that had to undergo FDA approval prior to marketing.

According to court documents, some 500 Risperdal lawsuits have been filed in the proceeding currently underway in Pennsylvania on behalf of patients who allegedly suffered gynecomastia and other side effects due to their use of the antipsychotic medication.

Patients in these Risperdal lawsuits allege Johnson & Johnson and Janssen Pharmaceuticals concealed side effects associated with the medication, including the link between Risperdal and gynecomastia. There were also allegations that the companies improperly marketed Risperdal for off-label use such as treatment for children long before pediatric indications were approved in 2006. At the time, Risperdal side effects in children were not well known. Recently, however, hundreds of gynecomastia lawsuits have been filed, alleging that Risperdal increases breast tissue growth in young boys.

Risperdal has been linked to the growth of male breast tissue. This condition, known clinically as gynecomastia and informally as “man boobs,” comes with a variety of painful and embarrassing side effects, including painful, tender breast growth, as well as nipple pain and lactation. Risperdal is also associated with the risk of delayed puberty.