Chief Justice Sells His Pfizer Stock, Allowing Participation in Two Upcoming Cases
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has sold his Pfizer stock, allowing him to participate in cases involving allegations of drug overcharges and vaccine injuries.
Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg confirmed that Roberts sold his shares, valued at less than $15,000, in August, according to the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.). Arberg didn’t give a reason for the stock sale, the Post says, “but it appears likely that Justice Elena Kagan’s need to sit out the two cases played a role in Roberts’ timing.”
Kagan will recuse herself in 24 out of 51 cases on the docket so far, including the two Pfizer cases on which she worked as solicitor general. Roberts’ participation opens up the possibility of a 4-4 split in either case.
The court accepted one of the Pfizer cases on Tuesday. It involves a challenge to a California lawsuit alleging the company overcharged federally funded hospitals and clinics. At issue is whether health care providers can sue to enforce a contract between drugmakers and the federal government, Bloomberg reports. A federal appeals court allowed the suit. The case is Astra USA v. County of Santa Clara.
At issue in the vaccine case is whether a federal law creating a special vaccine court pre-empts product liability suits for a vaccine’s unavoidable side effects. The case is Bruesewitz v. Wyeth, the ABA Journal reports. Wyeth, which won in the lower courts, is now a unit of Pfizer.
