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Johnson & Johnson’s decision to risk a $17 billion penalty in the nation's first opioid-crisis trial added one of the most dramatic chapters yet to the company's increasingly remarkable willingness to spurn settlements and litigate financially perilous cases all the way, according to a recent story in the online newsletter Law 360.

The article includes an interview with Nicolas Terry, Hall Render Professor of Law and Executive Director of the Hall Center for Law and Health at IU McKinney.

Law 360 noted that J&J spent $2 billion last year on litigation, including attorney fees and settlements, compared to its annual average of $1.5 billion since 2011, the furthest back that the company has disclosed comparable expenditures in its annual reports.

The company's deep pockets empower it to outspend even the most formidable teams of plaintiffs lawyers. But those same deep pockets also guarantee that J&J can afford to pay virtually any judgment, presenting the plaintiffs bar with an irresistibly rich target, the article said.

"You have to put the overall assets and size of the company into the frame here. J&J is in a different league," Professor Terry said. "I think it has a lot more to lose, and therefore they take a very strong approach to litigation."

Professor Terry serves on Indiana University’s Grand Challenges Scientific Leadership Team, working on the addictions crisis and is a principal investigator on addictions law and policy Grand Challenge grants. His recent publications are at https://ssrn.com/author=183691 and he is @nicolasterry on twitter.