The jury in US District Court on Monday found Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp had systematically denied promotions, paid less and subjected to discrimination 5,600 women represented as plaintiffs in a 2004 class action lawsuit.
An attorney for the women argued in court that the jury should award the women between $190 million and $285 million in punitive damages, which is about 2 to 3 percent of the company's $9.5 billion 2009 revenue. In their ruling on Monday, the jury awarded $3.3 million in compensatory damages to 12 of the women who testified at the 6-week long trial.
"Justice demands that you punish Novartis for its conduct," attorney David Sanford told the 9-member jury. He called for an end of Novartis "padding its profits by systematically underpaying its female employees."
"How much money does it take for Novartis to wake up?" said Sanford, who asked the jury to impose a sum sufficiently high to act as a deterrent to other companies.
The jury ruled that Novartis should pay punitive damages to the entire class. Presiding Judge Colleen McMahon will determine back pay, lost benefits and adjusted wages.
Novartis attorney Richard Schnadig admitted the jury had chastised the company with the "sweeping nature" of its verdict, but argued that it "has already received a message."
Schnadig told the jury that not all of the 5,600 plaintiffs agreed with the lawsuit and the company was already pushing ahead with changes.
In court papers, other women said complaints made to the company's human resources division were routinely ignored, and pregnancies were often the source of discrimination.
The case is Velez et al v Novartis Corporation, US District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 04-09194.
