J&J’s $302 Million Fine Needs SCOTUS Review, Business Groups Say

Johnson & Johnson’s petition asking the US Supreme Court to review a $302 million civil fine for allegedly misrepresenting risks of pelvic mesh products has drawn the support of medical, legal, and business groups.

The court should put constitutional constraints on a state’s ability to impose of civil penalties, the groups say.

Then-California Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed an enforcement action in 2016, alleging the company’s misrepresentations violated the state’s Unfair Competition Law and False Advertising Law. Each statute imposes a penalty up to $2,500 for each violation.

A trial court found that the companies committed 153,351 UCL violations and ...