Berger Montague and Reese Marketos Win $1.64 Billion False Claims Act Judgment

(PHILADELPHIA and DALLAS, March 31, 2025) – Berger Montague and Reese Marketos secured one of the largest False Claims Act recoveries in history for the U.S. government on Friday when the law firms obtained a $1.64 billion judgment on behalf of two whistleblowers in the pharmaceutical industry.

In his March 28, 2025 opinion, U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi of the District of New Jersey found that Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Products “engaged in a deliberate and calculated scheme that spanned several years and involved the unlawful marketing” of two of its HIV medications, Prezista and Intelence, for off-label uses.

The final judgment follows a six-week trial led by Reese Marketos in 2024 on behalf of whistleblowers Jessica Penelow and Christine Brancaccio, two former sales representatives at Janssen, who filed the lawsuit in 2012. Relators’ longtime counsel at Berger Montague joined forces with Reese Marketos in 2022 to take the case to trial. Berger Montague overcame several pretrial hurdles throughout the course of the 12-year litigation, including defeating Janssen’s 2021 motion for summary judgment and the 2017 motion to dismiss.

In its June 13, 2024 verdict, the jury found that Janssen caused the submission of 159,574 false claims to the government for reimbursement for two of its drugs, awarding the United States government $120 million in single damages. Under the False Claims Act, damages automatically treble to three times the amount of damages, Judge Quraishi noted in his final judgment, increasing the award to $360 million. In addition, the Court imposed penalties on Janssen of $8,000 for each false claim, growing the award to $1.64 billion, in addition to post-judgment interest. False Claims Act settlements and judgments throughout the nation in 2024 totaled roughly $2.9 billion, making this ruling one of the most significant FCA judgments in history.

”We are so pleased with the court’s decision,” said Executive Shareholder and Chair of Berger Montague’s False Claims Act, Qui Tam, & Whistleblower practice Sherrie Savett. “Our courageous clients – Jessica and Christine—have been living and breathing this case for more than 12 years now. It’s been a hard road. But this is a fantastic result.”

The Berger Montague team also included Joy Clairmont, Michael Fantini and William Ellerbe.

Off-label marketing occurs when a drugmaker promotes its product for purposes that have not been proven safe and effective by the U.S. Federal Drug and Administration or misrepresent the dangers and side effects of an approved drug. At trial, jurors heard evidence that Janssen engaged in off-label marketing of two HIV drugs by falsely representing the side effects of one of the drugs to thousands of physicians, despite the FDA-approved label stating that the drug created serious adverse effects. The jury also heard evidence that Janssen falsely claimed its Intelence drug was safe and effective for once-a-day use for HIV patients and for those who had never before taken antiretroviral drugs, while the FDA-approved label only approved the drug for twice-a-day use and for a different patient population.

“This trial required relentless preparation and courtroom advocacy to stay on top of Janssen’s never-ending excuses and blame-shifting,” Reese Marketos partner Pete Marketos said. “Beyond bringing well-deserved justice for our clients, this ruling also marks a great day for Medicare and U.S. taxpayers.”

The Reese Marketos trial team also included Josh Russ, Andrew Wirmani, Adam Sanderson, and Whitney Wendel.

Read More About This Judgment:

• Johnson & Johnson unit ordered to pay $1.64 billion in HIV drug marketing case, Reuters News, March 28, 2025.
• Janssen Liability Increased to $1.6 Billion in Drug Fraud Suit, Bloomberg Law, March 29, 2025.
• Janssen Owes Additional $1.5B In HIV Prescription Trial, Law360, March 28, 2025.

Founded in 2011, Reese Marketos is a Dallas-based litigation boutique that specializes in high-stakes trials. The firm’s core practice groups include complex commercial litigation, False Claims Act litigation, patent litigation, and white-collar defense. The firm’s lawyers are known for trying complex cases, even when they have only months or weeks to prepare. For more information, visit www.rm-firm.com.

Berger Montague is one of the nation’s preeminent law firms focusing on complex civil litigation, class actions, and mass torts in federal and state courts throughout the United States. The firm is active in the fields of antitrust, commercial litigation, consumer protection, defective products, environmental law, employment law, securities, and whistleblower cases, among many other practice areas. For more than 50 years, Berger Montague has played lead roles in precedent-setting cases and has recovered over $50 billion for its clients and the classes they have represented. Berger Montague is headquartered in Philadelphia and has offices in Chicago, Minneapolis, San Diego, San Francisco, Toronto, Washington, D.C., and Wilmington, DE.

The case is 3:12-cv-07758 in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.