Troutman Pepper Secures Defense Verdict for Johnson & Johnson in Metal-on-Metal Hip Implant Case

ATLANTA – Troutman Pepper was recently part of a national trial team that secured a defense verdict on behalf of Johnson & Johnson (J&J) in a federal jury trial in the District of Arizona. The case, King v. DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., et al., was the first DePuy Pinnacle metal-on-metal hip implant trial since the completion of the multidistrict litigation (MDL).

The trial team was instrumental in obtaining the unanimous jury verdict, soundly rejecting plaintiffs’ arguments that the product was defective and/or unreasonably dangerous. The victory follows Troutman Pepper’s four recent defense wins for J&J, including a four-day federal jury trial in Alabama, a nine-day federal jury trial in New Jersey, a 12-day federal jury trial in Florida, and a 10-day federal jury trial in California.

Troutman Pepper’s Eric Rumanek served as trial counsel with critical support from Brett Mason, Frederick King, and Ben Geller. A team from Skadden led by Allison Brown served as co-counsel. The group worked in conjunction with counsel from Barnes & Thornburg, who serve as national counsel for the Pinnacle litigation.

“We are incredibly proud to represent Johnson & Johnson and to have secured this latest defense verdict,” Rumanek said. “The team has consistently delivered outstanding results, securing favorable verdicts in multiple high-stakes cases.”

Troutman Pepper’s leading life sciences and health care team counsels clients at all stages of the health care continuum – from drug development to clinical care – from emerging biotech to global pharma. The firm’s product liability practice is nationally recognized with an extensive track record of defending single-plaintiff cases, multidistrict class actions, and mass tort litigation involving serious personal injuries or catastrophic events.

About Troutman Pepper
Troutman Pepper is a national law firm with more than 1,100 attorneys strategically located in 20+ U.S. cities. The firm’s litigation, transactional, and regulatory practices advise a diverse client base, from startups to multinational enterprises. The firm provides sophisticated legal solutions to clients’ most pressing business challenges, with depth across industry sectors, including energy, financial services, health sciences, insurance, and private equity, among others. Learn more at troutman.com.