News & Events

On September 15, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled, in a summary order, in favor of Simpson Thacher client Pfizer Inc., vacating and remanding the district court’s decision in a dispute with McNeil-PPC Inc. The Second Circuit found that the 1989 consent judgment at issue is ambiguous, and therefore that Pfizer is entitled to submit extrinsic evidence to demonstrate that it does not apply to pediatric Advil products, which did not even exist at the time. The Second Circuit disagreed with the district judge’s view that the 1980s court decisions resolved the ambiguity in favor of Johnson & Johnson. The case will now proceed at the district court level.

The decision has received prominent media coverage in both The Am Law Litigation Daily and Law360. To read The Am Law Litigation Daily article, click here (subscription required). To read the Law360 article, click here (subscription required).

The Simpson Thacher team representing Pfizer includes Lynn Neuner, Bill Russell and Daniel Stujenske (Litigation).