Johnson & Johnson attorneys will have their hands full over the next few weeks as two new trials began Monday over its withdrawn heartburn medication Propulsid. The cases, which will be heard in New Orleans and Napa County, California, are the first Propulsid claims in over a year to reach trial. The lawsuits were filed by the families of Richard J. Diez and John Clavert, both of whom died of heart attacks in 1999 after taking the medication. A spokesperson for Janssen Pharmaceutica, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, denied the lawsuits' claims.

The last litigation involving Propulsid occurred in March 2002 when a Mississippi Circuit Court judge reduced a $100 million verdict that was awarded to 10 plaintiffs in September 2001. The former Propulsid users filed suit against Janssen alleging the drug caused their serious heart rhythm disturbances. Judge Lamar Pickard decreased the award, which is still being appealed, to $48 million.