The next Medicaid fraud lawsuit trial that our firm will be involved in will be on October 26, 2009, in Honolulu, Hawaii against the Watson Defendants (Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Watson Pharma, Inc., f/k/a Schein Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Watson Laboratories, Inc.). We will be trying the case with Attorney General Mark J. Bennett’s office and the local Honolulu law firm of Price, Okamoto, Himeno & Lum. This case provides for a slightly different challenge than the previous cases tried by our firm. If the State of Hawaii proves that the Watson Defendants committed fraud by reporting false drug prices to the State of Hawaii, then the State will be awarded statutory civil penalties by operation of law. These penalties are mandatory under the Civil Liability Law for which Hawaii is prosecuting Watson and other Defendants.

On November 30th, the State of Hawaii will try Defendant Sandoz, Inc., for the same conduct mentioned above relating to Watson. Our firm will be involved in this trial as well with Attorney General Bennett’s office, the Honolulu law firm of Price, Okamoto, and the Chicago law firm of Miner, Barnhill & Galland, P.C. This will be the third Medicaid fraud trial for Sandoz. As you may recall, we have previously reported that the State of Alabama obtained a verdict against Sandoz in February, 2009 for $78,443,572.00 and that recently the State of Kentucky obtained a verdict against Sandoz in the amount of $16,000,000.00. The trial judge in Kentucky may still impose additional penalties on Sandoz as a result of a civil penalty statute utilized in that case by the State of Kentucky.

The trials against the Watson Defendants and Sandoz in the State of Hawaii will be Hawaii’s first two Medicaid fraud trials. The State of Hawaii previously settled cases with Defendants Dey Laboratories, Baxter Healthcare Corporation and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.

We look forward to trying these two cases with Attorney General Bennett’s office as well as the law firms of Price, Okamoto and Miner, Barnhill. As always, we will promptly report the results of these trials once the jury verdicts have been announced.