“An Arkansas judge ordered Johnson & Johnson JNJ -0.13% to pay $1.1 billion after a jury found that the company’s past marketing of the antipsychotic Risperdal violated the state’s consumer-protection laws.

The Arkansas penalty is the largest to date in a series of state legal cases against J&J related to its marketing of Risperdal, which was once J&J’s top-selling drug before generic copycats hit the market.

The New Brunswick, N.J., company said Wednesday that it is disappointed with the judge’s penalty, and will appeal if its motion for a new trial is denied. A jury decided Tuesday that J&J violated consumer-protection laws.

J&J previously was ordered to pay $327 million in a South Carolina case and $258 million in Louisiana; the company is appealing both those cases. In January, J&J agreed to settle a Texas case for $158 million.

Several of the state cases have sought reimbursement of Medicaid payments for Risperdal prescriptions written for unapproved uses, compensation for treating their citizens for alleged adverse reactions to Risperdal, and other damages….”

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