Less money or new trial offered in Vioxx case: WSJ

Last Updated: 2007-06-07 9:00:57 -0400 (Reuters Health)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge gave a plaintiff in a Vioxx product liability case a choice of a retrial or a significantly reduced award after ruling that compensatory damages awarded by a jury in his original trial were "grossly excessive," the Wall Street Journal reported.

Judge Eldon Fallon, who is overseeing all federal Vioxx lawsuits, offered plaintiff Gerald Barnett the option of accepting $1.6 million or a new trial, the newspaper reported.

The former FBI agent, who blamed Merck & Co's withdrawn pain drug for his heart attack, was awarded $50 million in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages last August by the jury at his first trial.

But shortly after the verdict was announced, the judge threw out that award and ordered a new trial on damages.

The plaintiff's lawyer had requested that the court determine a new award. The judge's offer dramatically slashed the $50 million in compensatory damages to $600,000 while maintaining the jury's $1 million punitive-damages award.

"I think my client needs to accept this," Barnett's lawyer told the Journal, adding that Fallon's order stands a strong chance of being upheld on appeal.

In his order, Fallon noted Barnett has "even returned to certain of his beloved recreations, including golf and Carolina shag dancing, apparently with the same gusto and commitment he previously displayed," the newspaper reported.

Merck still intends to appeal the verdict against the company but was happy with the judge's decision to cut the damages awarded.

"We are pleased the court found that the compensatory damages were excessive and bore no relationship to the evidence presented in trial," Merck attorney Ted Mayer said in a statement.

Merck pulled its once $2.5 billion a year arthritis medicine from the market in September of 2004 after a study found long-term Vioxx use doubled the risk of heart attack and stroke. The New Jersey-based drugmaker is facing more than 27,000 Vioxx lawsuits.