In re Vioxx Products Liability Litigation
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
574 F.Supp.2d 606 (2008)
- Written by Salina Kennedy, JD
Facts
Merck, Inc. (Merck) (defendant) produced and sold Vioxx, a painkiller that was prescribed to approximately 20 million individuals. Vioxx was removed from the market after it was discovered that the drug increased the risk of heart attacks and strokes. This discovery led to the filing of thousands of lawsuits, including several class actions, in federal and state courts throughout the United States. The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation transferred federal suits against Merck, representing the claims of 20,000 plaintiffs, to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, where Judge Fallon, the transferee judge, coordinated and monitored discovery and encouraged the parties to settle. In addition to the federal claims, there were 30,000 Vioxx lawsuits pending in state courts, over which Judge Fallon did not have jurisdiction. Representative counsel from the state cases participated in the negotiation of the federal-court claims, and a global settlement was reached that included all of the pending federal and state actions. The global settlement established an administrative framework under which Judge Fallon and a number of special masters were responsible for overseeing the settlement. When interim payments were scheduled to begin pursuant to the global settlement, Judge Fallon ruled on the issue of attorney’s fees.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Fallon, J.)
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