Fine, Fine, Fine.

Teva Pharmaceuticals and Baxter International, the most recent companies to find themselves on the losing end of Bob Eglet's jury-whooping stick, have filed a Motion for Stay and a Renewed Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law or, In the Alternative, For New Trial.

Both motions will be heard on July 12, 2010, along with Eglet's Motion for Attorney's Fees and Interest (you know ... just for good measure).

From the RJ:

[Defense counsel Mark] Tully in court papers asked district Judge Jessie Walsh to reduce the award to a “single digit” ratio over the $5 million compensatory award the jury granted. He argued the U.S. Supreme Court has said any punitive damages awards in excess of four times the compensatory award “might be close to the line of constitutional impropriety.”

Eglet disagreed, saying the defendants misrepresented how the jury arrived at the figure. When properly calculated, he argued, the ratio is 27 times for Teva and 11 times for Baxter.

Which is still more than four, but Nevada law exempts product liability judgments from a cap on damages ... so we'll see how this plays out.

Teva/Baxter also threw out some boilerplate accusations, apparently forgetting where they were practicing law:

The defendants and critics of the jury award question the relationship between Eglet’s law firm, Mainor Eglet Cottle, and Walsh. Records show that firm and its attorneys contributed $40,000 to her 2008 judicial campaign. Eglet said the contributions are a “red herring” designed to discredit “a fine judge.”

Fine, fine judge. Fine fine fine fine fine fine fine ... 500 million times over.

Regarding the manufacturer of the offending drug, propofol (incidentally, one of the drugs that killed Michael Jackson), Teva has decided to take its ball and go home. From the Chicago Tribune:

The drug is hard to manufacture and the company gets little or no profit from it, said Denise Bradley, a spokeswoman for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

Oh, and there's the fact that Teva is facing almost 250 lawsuits connected to the drug.

(LVRJ; Chicago Tribune; Case No. A571172; Thanks, Tipsters!)

Dr. Needles Finally Indicted

A Clark County grand jury indicted Dr. Dipak Desai and two others in connection with the 2008 Hepititus hepatitis C outbreak that formed the basis for Bob Eglet's $500 million + verdict last month. From the LV Sun:

The 28-count criminal indictment unsealed today against the three includes charges of racketeering, performance of an act in reckless disregard of persons or property, criminal neglect of patients, insurance fraud, theft and obtaining money under false pretenses. All are felonies.

Deputy District Attorney Michael Staudaher wanted Desai to be held in jail without bail until next week, when the court could determine what his assets are and how much bail would be appropriate. Staudaher claimed that that Desai has at least $30 million in assets and has bragged that he could gain access to as much as $180 million. The prosecutor said Desai received an $881,000 tax refund for 2008 and had enough cash to pay his bankruptcy lawyer $250,000.

Dr. Needles attorney, Richard Wright, claimed that his client's assets were tied up in bankruptcy and he will need time to request bail from the bankruptcy court or from his relatives. Judge Cadish compromised:

Judge Elissa Cadish ordered that Desai surrender himself [Friday] and be placed on house arrest until he can arrange to post $1 million bail. If he is unable to arrange bail by the close of business Monday, he will be taken to the Clark County Detention Center.

Cadish also made Desai surrender his passport.

The other two charged in the Indictment were Desai’s employees, identified as Ronald Ernest Lakeman and Keith H. Mathahs. Cadish set bail for them at $500,000 each.

(LV Sun; Indictment; LVRJ)

***UPDATE***

Well, maybe not all of his assets were tied up in bankruptcy. The RJ is reporting that Desai submitted a cashier's check in the amount of $1 Million at 4:00 P.M. to secure his freedom while he awaits trial. As of 4:00 P.M., Lakeman and Mathahs had not yet posted their bail or turned themselves in.

What a $505 Million Smile Looks Like

Bob Eglet with MEC colleague Robert Adams at the Richard Harris party on their victory day ... right before they made it rain.