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Animal vaccine company succeeds in defending $53m class action
A leading veterinary pharmaceutical company has successfully defended proceedings based on allegations of false and misleading claims — a win that was attributable to meticulous record-keeping, says the lead partner.
Jess Feyder
Zoetis Australia has defended a purported $53 million class action that was brought by the owners of horses who were administered the Hendra virus vaccine developed by the company.
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The company was alleged to have engaged in deceptive or misleading conduct and breach of statutory warranty, in relation to the marketing and distribution of its equine vaccine for the Hendra virus, Equivac HeV.
The judgment, announced on 23 November, found in favour of Zoetis.
The win came after several hearings spanning four years; first heard in the Federal Court in March 2018, and successively in March and April of 2021.
The allegations concerned pamphlets made about the risks of Hendra virus for horses and the promotion of the vaccine, along with other concerns.
One of the allegations stated that Zoetis attempted to overplay the significance of the virus, which exists in low rates, by framing the virus as having an “enormous impact” on horses, thereby accentuating the necessity of the vaccine.
The representations of the vaccine that formed the basis of the allegations were found to not have been conveyed by Zoetis’ publications — and the representations that were made were found to be accurate or made on reasonable grounds.
Moreover, the vaccine was found to be of acceptable quality. The factual cases of the lead applicant and a sample group member were rejected.
Zoetis was represented by Piper Alderman. Lead partner Anne Freeman spoke to Lawyers Weekly about the successes and challenges of the case.
“The successful outcome was based on several factors,’ Ms Freeman explained.
“The team within the client spent hundreds of hours working with Piper Alderman on the defence, assisting with significant tasks like evidence preparation and discovery.
“Quite late in the proceedings, we were served with 50 lay witness statements from individual horse owners, which involved a huge effort from the legal team and the client in investigating the factual assertions in them, briefing veterinary experts, and preparing cross-examination.
“Our key witness was a very thorough person, who kept fantastic contemporaneous records, and that really assisted the defence. A lesson for everyone!
“Our client’s product was and is sound, and that was central.”
For lawyers involved in class actions, it’s important to keep on top of the ever-evolving class action landscape, Ms Freeman advised, “and thinking outside the box”.
