US judge denies class status in Merck Vioxx cases

Last Updated: 2006-11-22 13:55:20 -0400 (Reuters Health)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge on Wednesday denied a motion for class-action status for personal injury and wrongful death cases involving Merck & Co.'s withdrawn Vioxx painkiller.

Judge Eldon Fallon of New Orleans, who is overseeing federal lawsuits involving Vioxx, denied a request by plaintiffs' attorneys for the class-action status.

About 24,000 lawsuits have been filed by former users of Vioxx who allege to have been harmed by the drug, which Merck withdrew in 2004 after it was shown to increase the risk of heart attacks.

Merck, which said it would make a statement shortly on the decision, has vowed to fight the lawsuits one by one rather than agree to a costly group settlement with the plaintiffs - such as the one struck by Wyeth over its withdrawn "fen-phen" diet drugs.

Class-action status would have given the Vioxx plaintiffs more leverage in their fight against Merck, by allowing attorneys to sue on behalf of all individuals alleging harm.

Of 11 Vioxx lawsuits that have gone to jury verdicts, Merck has won seven. However, a New Jersey state court judge ordered one of the victories to be retried after ruling that some new evidence had come to light.

Some industry analysts have speculated Merck's eventual liability over Vioxx will exceed $5 billion. To date, the company has taken combined charges of about $1.28 billion to cover litigation expenses but has not yet paid any damages to plaintiffs.

Merck shares traded up 24 cents at $44.46 in afternoon NYSE trade, after being in negative territory earlier.