NEC Formula Verdicts & Appeals Tracker
Updated October 1, 2026. The NEC litigation has produced large state-court verdicts and a run of federal defense wins, and the appellate picture is complicated. Gross plaintiff verdicts total about $625 million. The $60 million Watson verdict was reversed, and on August 31, 2026 Mead Johnson won the first federal bellwether to reach a jury (Inman). On August 20, Abbott agreed to resolve the $495 million Gill verdict and claims for about 2,000 additional infants for an aggregate of about $670 million; Gill's share was not disclosed. There is no global settlement. This page is updated on every verdict and appellate move.
Key Takeaways
- Gross plaintiff verdicts total about $625 million; one was reversed, one was settled, and the post-trial status of the $70M Cook County verdict is not verified
- On Aug 20, Abbott agreed to resolve the $495M Gill verdict and claims for about 2,000 more infants for an aggregate of about $670M (Gill's share not disclosed)
- The $60M Watson verdict was reversed June 12, 2026 on learned intermediary grounds
- Federally, the first three (Abbott) bellwethers were dismissed on summary judgment; the first to reach a jury, Inman v. Mead Johnson, ended in a defense verdict on August 31, 2026
- There is no global settlement; Gill's share of the aggregate was not disclosed, and verdicts are not a guide to individual case value
The full record
| Case | Venue | Verdict | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gill v. Abbott | St. Louis, MO (state) | $495M plaintiff ($95M compensatory + $400M punitive) | Affirmed May 5, 2026 (unpublished); transfer denied June 22, 2026. A settlement filing on August 17, 2026 ended Abbott's appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court. Resolved in Abbott's August 20, 2026 agreements (about $670 million in aggregate, see next row); Gill's share was not disclosed. |
| Abbott settlement (Gill + approx. 2,000 more infants) | MDL-3026 + state (three firms) | About $670M in aggregate (includes Gill), August 20, 2026 | Abbott agreed to resolve the Gill case above plus NEC claims for about 2,000 additional infants, for an aggregate of about $670 million (per its August 20, 2026 SEC filing; Gill's share not disclosed). The additional claims are held by TorHoerman Law, the Holland Law Firm, and Stranch, Jennings & Garvey, across federal and state court. A partial settlement, not a global MDL resolution; Abbott admitted no liability. |
| Cook County consolidated (4 plaintiffs) | Cook County, IL (state) | $70M plaintiff ($53M compensatory + $17M punitive) | April 9-10, 2026. Post-trial status not verified. |
| Watson v. Mead Johnson | St. Clair County, IL (state) | $60M plaintiff | Reversed June 12, 2026 in a published opinion applying the learned intermediary doctrine; new trial. |
| Whitfield | St. Louis, MO (state) | Defense | Vacated March 13, 2025 and a new trial ordered; the Missouri Court of Appeals (Eastern District) affirmed the new-trial order August 11, 2026. Retrial date not set. |
| K.H. | St. Louis, MO (state) | Defense | July 2, 2026; stands. Jury found against the plaintiff on specific causation. |
| Mar v. Abbott | MDL-3026 (federal) | Defense summary judgment | Affirmed by the Seventh Circuit July 24, 2026 on warning causation. |
| Diggs v. Abbott | MDL-3026 (federal) | Defense summary judgment | July 2025. |
| Third federal bellwether | MDL-3026 (federal) | Defense summary judgment | October 2025. |
| Inman v. Mead Johnson | MDL-3026 (federal, N.D. Ill.) | Defense verdict (unanimous), August 31, 2026 | First federal NEC bellwether to reach a jury. The jury found that the death resulted from extreme prematurity, not Enfamil, and rejected the claim that Mead Johnson should have reformulated since 2015. The verdict stands, subject to any post-trial motions. |
These are jury verdicts and court rulings. The underlying claim, that cow's-milk-based preterm formula increases the alleged risk of NEC, remains contested. Dollar figures are jury verdicts, except Abbott's roughly $670 million aggregate settlement, and none is a per-case value or projection. There is no global settlement in this litigation; Abbott's August 2026 agreements resolve Gill and claims for about 2,000 additional infants.
Federal and state courts are diverging
The single most important thing to understand is that federal and state courts have gone different ways. In the MDL, the early bellwethers were dismissed on summary judgment for the defense. The Seventh Circuit affirmed one of those dismissals in Mar v. Abbott on July 24, 2026. The first federal NEC bellwether to reach a jury was Inman v. Mead Johnson: it survived summary judgment in May 2026 and went to trial in August, and on August 31, 2026 the jury returned a defense verdict for Mead Johnson.
State juries have been more receptive, producing the $495 million Gill, $70 million Cook County, and $60 million Watson verdicts. But the state appellate picture kept moving. The Watson verdict was reversed on learned intermediary grounds, and a St. Louis defense verdict in the K.H. case stands, with the jury finding against the plaintiff on specific causation. An earlier St. Louis defense verdict, in Whitfield, was vacated in March 2025 and a new trial ordered; the Missouri Court of Appeals (Eastern District) affirmed that order on August 11, 2026, and no retrial date has been reported. The Gill verdict took a different path: after an unpublished affirmance and a denied transfer request, a settlement filing on August 17, 2026 ended Abbott's appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court before that court could weigh in. Abbott's SEC filing says its August 20, 2026 agreements resolve Gill together with claims for about 2,000 additional infants, for an aggregate of about $670 million; Gill's share was not disclosed.
The honest read is that the verdict totals look large, but the trend line has run against plaintiffs on causation in federal court, and the largest verdict was resolved privately rather than tested at the state's highest court. Gill's share of the roughly $670 million aggregate was not disclosed, and the aggregate does not establish a value for any individual claim. That is exactly why a running, sourced tracker is more useful here than a headline number.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much have NEC juries awarded?
What happened to the $495 million Gill verdict?
What did the Seventh Circuit decide?
Is there a NEC settlement?
Sources & References
6 sources cited• Seventh Circuit opinion in Mar v. Abbott (July 24, 2026)
• Missouri appellate affirmance of Gill v. Abbott (May 5, 2026, unpublished); transfer denied June 22, 2026
• Reuters, "Abbott settles appeal over $495 million infant formula verdict" (August 19, 2026); settlement filing of August 17, 2026
• Mead Johnson / Reckitt statement and Legal Newsline reporting on the Inman v. Mead Johnson defense verdict (August 31, 2026)
• Abbott Laboratories Form 8-K, Item 8.01 (filed August 20, 2026), and Bloomberg and Reuters reporting on the roughly $670 million NEC settlement (August 20, 2026)
• Illinois Fifth District reversal of Watson v. Mead Johnson (June 12, 2026, published)
• State-court verdict reporting for the Cook County consolidated trial, Whitfield (new-trial order affirmed August 11, 2026), and K.H.
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois: MDL-3026 bellwether rulings
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Every case is unique, and results depend on the specific facts and circumstances involved. Past settlement amounts and case outcomes do not guarantee similar results in your case. If you believe you have a legal claim, you should consult with a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction who can evaluate your specific situation.