Vioxx Product Liability Litigation Update Report From Merck & Co. As Of June 30, 2007

UPDATE: Global Settlement Offer Made By Merck To End Vioxx Litigation According To November 9, 2007 News Reports

Merck Agrees to Settle Vioxx Suits for $4.85 Billion (NY Times)

Merck Is Expected to Announce Vioxx Settlement of $4.85 Billion (Wall Street Journal)

Merck May Pay $5 Billion to Settle Vioxx Cases, Lawyers Say (Bloomberg)

Company's Latest Estimate On Number Of Personal Injury Lawsuits And Their New List Of Scheduled Trial Dates

(Posted by Tom Lamb at DrugInjuryWatch.com)

On July 23, 2007 Merck & Co. announced the following information about the Vioxx product liability litigation, as taken from the drug company's press release entitled "Merck Reports Double-Digit Earnings-Per-Share Growth for Second Quarter 2007":

As of June 30, the Company had been served or was aware that it had been named as a defendant in approximately 26,950 lawsuits, which include approximately 45,225 plaintiff groups alleging personal injuries resulting from the use of VIOXX....

Of these lawsuits, approximately 8,575 lawsuits representing approximately 23,450 plaintiff groups are or are slated to be in the federal MDL [i.e., multidistrict litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana] and approximately 16,400 lawsuits representing approximately 16,400 plaintiff groups are included in a coordinated proceeding in New Jersey Superior Court.

In addition... the claims of more than 4,620 plaintiff groups have been dismissed as of June 30.  Of these, there have been more than 1,170 plaintiff groups whose claims were dismissed with prejudice (i.e., they cannot be brought again) either by plaintiffs themselves or by the courts.  More than 3,450 additional plaintiff groups have had their claims dismissed without prejudice (i.e., they can be brought again).

Interestingly, while this July 2007 Merck press release stated that the drug company had increased its reserve fund intended "solely for its future legal defense costs" related to the Vioxx personal injury cases and other components of the overall Vioxx litigation, e.g., economic loss and shareholder lawsuits, it went on to say that the drug company "has not established any reserves for any potential liability" related to any aspect of the Vioxx litigation.

Here is Merck's list of scheduled Vioxx trial dates as of July 20, 2007 for Vioxx personal injury lawsuits filed across the United States:

1. Appell / Arrigale, California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, September 17, 2007;
2. Kozic, Florida Circuit Court, Hillsborough County, September 17, 2007;
3. Crandall, Nevada District Court, Washoe County, October 1, 2007;
4. NJ Coordinated (Four trials with up to 2-3 plaintiffs each), Superior Court, Atlantic County, October 15, 2007;
5. Zajicek, Texas District Court, Jackson County, October 22, 2007;
6. Donohoo, Illinois Circuit Court, Madison County, October 29, 2007;
7. CA Coordinated (Trial of up to 5 plaintiffs), California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, November 26, 2007;
8. Turner, Alabama Circuit Court, Bullock County, January 7, 2008;
9. Frederick, Alabama Circuit Court, Jefferson County, March 10, 2008;
10. Singleton, Florida Circuit Court, Gasden County, April 7, 2008; and,
11. King, Illinois Circuit Court, Madison County, April 14, 2008.

One will notice that as of July 20, 2007 there are no Vioxx cases with trial dates set in the federal court MDL, according to Merck, despite the fact that there are reportedly "approximately 8,575 lawsuits representing approximately 23,450 plaintiff groups" currently in the Vioxx MDL.  Of course this situation as well as the Vioxx trial dates listed above are subject to change as things go forward.

P.S.  By means of a July 26, 2007 press release from Merck & Co. about Kenneth C. Frazier we first learned that Mr. Frazier will no longer be the company's General Counsel, effective August 1, 2007, at which time he becomes President of Merck's Global Human Health division.  In turn, Bruce N. Kuhlik has been appointed to the Merck General Counsel position.

Mr. Frazier served as Merck's General Counsel since 1999.  In that capacity, Mr. Frazier has been largely responsible for the company's Vioxx litigation strategy to date, as reported previously on this site in such articles as Merck Has No Plans for a Global Settlement Says General Counsel Frazier.

According to the Merck press release Mr. Frazier will work with his successor, Mr. Kuhlik, on the company's Vioxx litigation. One must wonder, however, if this change at the helm might foreshadow a different approach by Merck to the Vioxx litigation going forward.  (7/26/07)