A federal jury in California slapped NuVasive Inc. (NSDQ:NUVA) with a $41.8 million judgment after finding that the spinal implant maker poached sales reps from 1 of its distributors.
Madsen Medical, a Nevada-based distributor, sued San Diego-based NuVasive in September 2013, after being fired in 2012. Owner Kris Madsen alleged that NuVasive breached its contract when it lured 6 Madsen Medical reps to sell directly to their former Madsen clients, according to court documents.
After a 13-day trial, the jury deliberated for about 5 hours Feb. 19 before finding for Madsen. Yesterday the panel took just more than an hour to decide on the damages award, according to the documents, adding punitive damages of $20 million to compensatory damages of $7.5 million, plus $14 million for unjust enrichment and $300,000 in back commissions, according to plaintiff’s attorneys Huang, Ybarra, Singer & May.
“We believe that neither the law nor the facts support the verdict in this matter, and we intend to appeal in the event our post-trial motions are unsuccessful and a judgment is entered by the court. As this is an ongoing litigation matter, our policy is not to comment further,” the company told told NBC 7 Investigates.
