Kentucky v. Watson (AstraZeneca)

Summary

Medicaid wholesale pricing (AWP) fraud suit brought by Kentucky's attorney general.

Kentucky claimed that AstraZeneca misstated the wholesale price on its drugs by 20-30%, which cost Kentucky's Medicaid program $16M. The jury awarded $14.7M in damages. Read more at the State Journal.

The case was one of many average wholesale pricing (AWP) suits brought by states attorneys general accusing major drug manufacturers of overcharging Medicaid for prescription medications.

View free video clips from this case:
Plaintiff's Attorney, George Galland's, Closing Statement -- Clip 1
Defense Attorney, Gerson Zweifach's, Closing Statement -- Clip 2
Plaintiff's Attorney, George Galland's, Opening Statement -- Clip 3
Defense Attorney, Gerson Zweifach's, Opening Statement -- Clip 4

Outcome

Damages: 14,720,000
Punitive Damages:100

Case Information

Attorneys

Witnesses

Plaintiff: Commonwealth of Kentucky
Defense: Astrazeneca Pharmaceuticals
Verdict: $14,720,100

Judge: Roger Crittenden
Jurisdiction: 48th Judicial District of Kentucky
Court: Franklin County Circuit Court

Case Number: 04-CI-01487
Industry: Pharmaceutical
Practice Area: Health Law, Pharmaceuticals, Government Benefits Law, Fraud, Tort Law

Plaintiff

Commonwealth of Kentucky

Defense

Astrazeneca Pharmaceuticals

Sessions

Attorney

Witness

Type

Description

AM Session

Other

6 Chapters

	Description	Attorney
00:00:30	General Case Activities
01:44:48	Voir Dire (Jury Selection)	Galland, George
02:16:25	Break
02:47:08	Voir Dire (Jury Selection)	Slusher, Alan
02:48:28	Voir Dire (Jury Selection)	Keane, Margaret
03:01:15	Break

PM Session

Openings

4 Chapters

SEP

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

3 Chapters

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

5 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:01:10	Witness Direct Examination	Galland, George	McHenry, Ms. Christine	Video Recording
00:25:11	Break
00:39:45	Witness Direct Examination	Galland, George	Davis, Marilyn	Video Recording
00:54:50	Witness Cross Examination	Zweifach, Gerson	Davis, Marilyn	Video Recording
00:00:06	General Case Activities

SEP

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

9 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:05	Witness Direct Examination	Galland, George	Turner, Ms. Shannon	In Person
00:46:40	Break
01:03:06	Witness Cross Examination	Zweifach, Gerson	Turner, Ms. Shannon	In Person
01:55:56	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Galland, George	Turner, Ms. Shannon	In Person
01:56:05	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Zweifach, Gerson	Turner, Ms. Shannon	In Person
02:02:13	Break
02:16:32	Witness Direct Examination	Libman, Robert	Kustra, Mrs. Kathleen	Video Recording
02:23:11	Witness Cross Examination	Zweifach, Gerson	Kustra, Mrs. Kathleen	Video Recording
03:06:53	Break

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

10 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:01:09	Witness Direct Examination	Johnstone, Dave	Bahr, Mrs. Debra	In Person
00:29:47	Witness Cross Examination	Keane, Margaret	Bahr, Mrs. Debra	In Person
01:28:18	Break
01:45:09	Witness Cross Examination	Keane, Margaret	Bahr, Mrs. Debra	In Person
01:49:55	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Johnstone, Dave	Bahr, Mrs. Debra	In Person
01:56:32	Witness Direct Examination	Galland, George	Duzor, Diedra	Video Recording
02:18:20	Witness Cross Examination	Zweifach, Gerson	Duzor, Diedra	Video Recording
02:32:22	Break
02:44:25	Witness Cross Examination	Zweifach, Gerson	Duzor, Diedra	Video Recording
00:00:35	General Case Activities

OCT

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

7 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:18	Witness Direct Examination	Davis, Tracy	Alverson, Mr. Jeff	Video Recording
00:17:34	Witness Direct Examination	Libman, Robert	Cecil, Mrs. Rebecca	In Person
01:15:09	Break
01:37:12	Witness Cross Examination	Zweifach, Gerson	Cecil, Mrs. Rebecca	In Person
03:16:38	Break
03:27:33	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Libman, Robert	Cecil, Mrs. Rebecca	Other
03:35:22	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Zweifach, Gerson	Cecil, Mrs. Rebecca	In Person

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

9 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:03:10	Witness Direct Examination	Libman, Robert	Anderson, Dr. Gerard	In Person
01:12:10	Break
01:29:23	Witness Direct Examination	Libman, Robert	Anderson, Dr. Gerard	In Person
01:42:00	Witness Cross Examination	Schmidtlein, John	Anderson, Dr. Gerard	In Person
02:17:56	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Libman, Robert	Anderson, Dr. Gerard	In Person
03:03:35	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Schmidtlein, John	Anderson, Dr. Gerard	In Person
03:06:44	Break
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:02:20	General Case Activities

OCT

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

11 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:02	General Case Activities
00:05:45	Witness Direct Examination	Davis, Tracy	Fontay, Mr. Rich	Video Recording
00:10:23	Witness Direct Examination	Blustein, Benjamin	DeBrock, Mr. Larry	In Person
00:48:06	Witness Cross Examination	Schmidtlein, John	DeBrock, Mr. Larry	In Person
00:58:03	Break
01:15:15	Witness Cross Examination	Schmidtlein, John	DeBrock, Mr. Larry	In Person
01:42:08	Witness Direct Examination	Galland, George	Warren, Neil	Video Recording
01:57:34	Witness Cross Examination	Schmidtlein, John	Warren, Neil	Video Recording
02:05:52	Witness Direct Examination	Galland, George	Morgan, Mrs. Leslie	Video Recording
02:14:56	Witness Cross Examination	Keane, Margaret	Morgan, Mrs. Leslie	Video Recording
02:21:10	Break

PM Session

Defense Witness(es)

7 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:30	Witness Direct Examination	Galland, George	Reed, Mr. Larry	Video Recording
00:12:08	Witness Cross Examination	Merkl, Neil	Reed, Mr. Larry	Video Recording
00:32:45	Witness Direct Examination	Galland, George	Zemanek, Ms. Kathleen	Video Recording
00:39:40	Witness Direct Examination	Galland, George	Milbauer, Mr. Alan	Video Recording
00:46:23	Witness Direct Examination	Galland, George	Freeberry, Mr. John	Transcript Reading
00:56:43	Witness Cross Examination	Schmidtlein, John	Freeberry, Mr. John	Transcript Reading
01:09:23	Witness Direct Examination	Galland, George	Schultz, Mr. Eric	Video Recording

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

3 Chapters

OCT

PM Session

Defense Witness(es)

7 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:10	Witness Direct Examination	Schmidtlein, John	Scott Morton, Fiona	In Person
01:31:12	Witness Cross Examination	Libman, Robert	Scott Morton, Fiona	In Person
02:18:38	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Schmidtlein, John	Scott Morton, Fiona	In Person
02:19:33	Break
02:33:28	Witness Direct Examination	Schmidtlein, John	Boyd, Mr. Dennis	Video Recording
03:24:54	Witness Direct Examination	Keane, Margaret	Morgan, Patricia	Transcript Reading
03:41:12	Witness Cross Examination	Galland, George	Morgan, Patricia	Transcript Reading

AM Session

Defense Witness(es)

8 Chapters

OCT

PM Session

Defense Witness(es)

2 Chapters

			Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
		00:00:45	Witness Direct Examination	Schmidtlein, John	Hansan, Mr. Alan	Video Recording
		00:34:14	Witness Cross Examination	Galland, George	Hansan, Mr. Alan	Video Recording

AM Session

Defense Witness(es)

8 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:02:09	Witness Direct Examination	Harris, Kim	Morgan, Ms. Marsha	Video Recording
01:08:35	Witness Cross Examination	Mangi, Adeel	Morgan, Ms. Marsha	Video Recording
01:21:02	Break
01:37:13	Witness Direct Examination	Zweifach, Gerson	Robinson, Mr. Mike	In Person
02:34:33	Witness Cross Examination	Galland, George	Robinson, Mr. Mike	In Person
02:56:06	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Zweifach, Gerson	Robinson, Mr. Mike	In Person
02:58:15	Break
00:00:00	General Case Activities

OCT

PM Session

Defense Witness(es)

8 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:57	Witness Direct Examination	Schmidtlein, John	Nicholsan, Mr. Sean	In Person
00:38:07	Witness Cross Examination	Libman, Robert	Nicholsan, Mr. Sean	In Person
01:12:42	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Schmidtlein, John	Nicholsan, Mr. Sean	In Person
01:19:55	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Libman, Robert	Nicholsan, Mr. Sean	In Person
01:21:32	Break
01:45:57	Witness Direct Examination	Schmidtlein, John	Hensen, Ms. Ellen	Video Recording
02:21:00	Witness Cross Examination	Libman, Robert	Hensen, Ms. Ellen	Video Recording
00:00:00	General Case Activities

AM Session

Defense Witness(es)

10 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:50	General Case Activities
00:02:00	Witness Direct Examination	Zweifach, Gerson	Cook, Mr. Kenneth	In Person
00:32:11	Witness Cross Examination	Galland, George	Cook, Mr. Kenneth	In Person
00:47:39	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Zweifach, Gerson	Cook, Mr. Kenneth	In Person
00:49:08	Witness Direct Examination	Zweifach, Gerson	McHenry, Ms. Christine	In Person
01:08:34	Witness Cross Examination	Galland, George	McHenry, Ms. Christine	In Person
01:36:09	Break
02:00:04	Witness Cross Examination	Galland, George	McHenry, Ms. Christine	In Person
02:04:14	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Zweifach, Gerson	McHenry, Ms. Christine	In Person
02:07:18	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Galland, George	McHenry, Ms. Christine	In Person

OCT

AM Session

Defense Witness(es)

5 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:45	Witness Direct Examination	Zweifach, Gerson	Fanti, Mr. Rich	In Person
00:08:43	Witness Cross Examination	Libman, Robert	Fanti, Mr. Rich	In Person
00:36:45	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Zweifach, Gerson	Fanti, Mr. Rich	In Person
00:37:55	General Case Activities
00:38:24	General Case Activities

OCT

AM Session

Closings

5 Chapters

PM Session

Verdict

3 Chapters

OCT

Recording Disclaimer: This proceeding was recorded in full.

Kentucky v. Watson (AstraZeneca)

Summary

Outcome

Sessions

AudioCaseFiles

Essentials

Training Libraries

	Description	Attorney
00:00:10	General Case Activities
00:11:02	Opening Statement	Galland, George
00:57:50	Break
01:13:28	Opening Statement	Zweifach, Gerson

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:01:25	Witness Direct Examination	Galland, George	Hyde, Mr. Roger	Video Recording
02:03:08	Break
00:00:50	General Case Activities

	Description	Attorney
00:00:34	General Case Activities	Zweifach, Gerson
00:15:16	General Case Activities	Galland, George
00:25:52	General Case Activities	Zweifach, Gerson

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:30	General Case Activities
00:13:02	Witness Direct Examination	Zweifach, Gerson	Hyde, Mr. Roger	In Person
00:53:16	Witness Cross Examination	Galland, George	Hyde, Mr. Roger	In Person
01:07:32	Break
01:25:49	Witness Cross Examination	Galland, George	Hyde, Mr. Roger	In Person
02:16:30	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Zweifach, Gerson	Hyde, Mr. Roger	In Person
02:17:58	Witness Direct Examination	Zweifach, Gerson	Thomas, Mr. Gene	In Person
02:43:50	Break

	Description	Attorney
00:00:37	General Case Activities
00:16:52	Closing Statement	Zweifach, Gerson
01:32:08	Break
01:52:04	Closing Statement	Galland, George
03:03:33	General Case Activities

			Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
		00:03:45	Reading of the Verdict
		00:06:56	General Case Activities
		00:00:00	General Case Activities