Jury awards $250 mln in Novartis class action suit

From MarketWatch SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — A New York jury on Wednesday awarded an additional $250 million in punitive damages for gender discrimination in a class action suit against Novartis (NVS 46.06, -0.16, -0.36%) , one of the law firms representing the plaintiffs said.

On Monday, the jury had found Novartis liable for gender discrimination in pay, promotions and pregnancy-related matters. “Today’s punitive damage award is meant to punish the company for its past actions and to deter it and others from continuing to discriminate against female employees in the future,” said Sanford Wittels & Heisler LLP.

Twelve former Novartis sales representatives were awarded $3.36 million in compensatory damages on Tuesday