Record-Breaking Defamation Jury Award Undone by Fourth Circuit

A Puma Biotechnology Inc. shareholder who said the company defamed him while fending off his attempt at a proxy takeover saw his $22.35 million jury verdict undone by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on Wednesday.

Fredric Eshelman was defamed by a Puma investor presentation suggesting that he’d been involved in a fraudulent clinical trial for a pharmaceutical product, the appeals court said. But his “enormous” jury award—the largest in a defamation suit in North Carolina history—is excessive and not justified by evidence of the harm he suffered, the court said, ordering a new trial to determine ...