The New Jersey VIOXX Case: Humeston v. Merck & Co., Inc.

About the Case

On August 19, 2005, an Angelton, Texas jury found Merck & Co., Inc. negligent and responsible for the wrongful death of Robert Ernst and awarded his widow $253.4 million in damages. For more information about Ernst v. Merck & Co., Inc., the Texas VIOXX Case, Click Here.

On September 12, 2005, in Atlantic City , New Jersey , trial began in the case of Humeston v. Merck & Co., Inc., now known as "The New Jersey VIOXX Case." It is the second of the now nearly 5,000 state and federal lawsuits filed against Merck & Co., Inc. to go to trial over the hugely profitable prescription drug VIOXX (Rofecoxib). Despite its incredible popularity and $2.5 billion a year sales, Merck voluntarily withdrew VIOXX from the market in September 2004 when the painkiller was shown to double the risk of Heart Attack (myocardial infarction) and Stroke (cerebrovascular accident or "CVA").

Mr. Humeston claims in his lawsuit that taking VIOXX for knee pain caused him to suffer a heart attack four years ago. The decorated, twice-wounded Viet Nam War veteran described the pain from the heart attack as being, "unlike any pain I have ever felt." The heart attack resulted in permanent heart muscle damage which now causes Mr. Humeston to suffer chronic fatigue, depression and an increased chance of having another heart attack. His claims now are being heard by an Atlantic City jury.

About Frederick "Mike" Humeston

Mr. Frederick "Mike" Humeston is a war hero. He was awarded two Purple Hearts for his service as a Marine during the Vietnam War, one for a shrapnel wound to his knee that still, decades later, causes him to suffer chronic pain. In 2001, Mr. Humeston he began to take VIOXX for his knee pain. Two months later, Mr. Humeston suffered a heart attack while sitting in his easy chair after work having milk and cookies, shortly after taking two 25mg VIOXX pills.

Mr. Humeston is now 60 and lives in Boise, Idaho. He and is wife of 31 years have five (5) grown children. Due to permanent heart muscle damage caused by the heart attack, Mr. Humeston suffers chronic fatigue, weakness, exhaustion, and depression. In addition to the pain and disability he has been caused to suffer, Mr. humeston now is limited to a restricted diet and must take several medications daily for the rest of his life.

About VIOXX

In May 1999, VIOXX (rofecoxib) was approved by the FDA to treat arthritis and other types of pain and Merck introduced VIOXX to the market.

By 2003, about 20 million people taking VIOXX each year and gross sales for Merck were in the neighborhood of $2.5 billion ($2,500,000,000.00).

In September 2004, long-term studies of Vioxx had to be shut down when it was shown that VIOXX doubled the normal risk of heart attack and stroke (CVA). Only then did Merck finally voluntarily withdraw VIOXX from the market

Currently, there are nearly 5,000 state and federal Vioxx lawsuits pending against Merck & Co., Inc.. The Ernst case was the first case Vioxx case to go to trial.

On August 19, 2005, an Angelton, Texas jury found Merck & Co., Inc. negligent and responsible for the wrongful death of Robert Ernst and awarded his widow $253.4 million in damages. CLICK HERE to be taken to our Texas VIOXX Case page.

If you or a loved one has been hurt by VIOXX, Bextra, Celebrex or any other bad drug, visit our prescription drug product liability site at HurtbyaBadDrug.com.

 

If you or a loved one has had a heart attack or stroke that you believe may have been related to VIOXX use, CLICK HERE now. We can help.

 

August 18, 2006 (VIOXX Lawsuits | New Jersey VIOXX Trial News | Humeston v. Merck & Co., Inc.)

Judge vacates jury win for Merck in Vioxx case involving Boise man, The Merck pharmaceutical company says it may appeal a ruling yesterday that threw out its victory in a lawsuit filed by an Idaho man who had a heart attack while using the company's Vioxx pain medicine. Fred Humeston talks with reporters outside a New Jersey courtroom after losing his fight against Merck & Co. A state judge in New Jersey ordered a new trial for Frederick "Mike" Humeston of Boise, a postal worker who blamed his 2001 heart attack on taking Vioxx for two months. A jury in Atlantic City last November found Merck provided adequate warning of risks linked to Vioxx.

June 27, 2006 (VIOXX Lawsuit News | VIOXX Trial News | VIOXX Research & Studies)

Lawyers Like Vioxx Correction, Lawyers who lost their Vioxx cases said Tuesday they see new ammunition in their fights to win new trials now that a prominent medical journal has contradicted a key defense used by Merck & Co. On Monday, the New England Journal of Medicine issued a correction which reversed an article's claim that Vioxx elevated the risk of cardiovascular problems only after 18 months of use. However, the correction didn't state when the increased risk would begin.

June 26, 2006 (VIOXX Lawsuit News | VIOXX Trial News | VIOXX Research & Studies)

Journal Corrects Vioxx Article to Reflect Short-Term Heart Risk, More than a month after news surfaced that Vioxx might cause cardiovascular side effects before the 18 months originally cited in an influential 2005 study, the New England Journal of Medicine on Monday issued a formal correction to its article on the study to reflect the new information. "This correction retracts the claim that there is an 18-month delay before patients experience an increased risk while taking Vioxx," said Dr. Steven Nissen, interim chairman of the department of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, and the author of a related letter, also released Monday by the journal. The original article outlining the results of the APPROVe study, which was funded by Vioxx' maker, Merck & Co., appeared in the March 17, 2005, issue of NEJM. Early data from the APPROVe trial prompted Merck -- in cooperation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration -- to pull Vioxx from the market in September 2004.

November 15, 2005

Lawyers argue on true meaning of Vioxx research, NEW ORLEANS Lawyers for Merck and for a woman whose husband died of a heart attack one month after he began taking Vioxx cited the same studies today. They're trying to convince a judge that the other side has no acceptable evidence to support its key arguments over the painkiller. Attorneys for Richard Irvin Junior's family contend numerous studies show an increase in heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems within weeks after people began taking Vioxx.

November 14, 2005

Most Recent Vioxx Study Shows Merck Will Need More Than Courtroom Theatrics to Win Once the More Difficult Trials Start, By Steven DiJoseph, Litigation Experts See Mass of Evidence against Merck as Virtually Insurmountable When the Company Defends Long-Use and Death Cases. Another day, another negative study involving COX-2 inhibitors; the class of drugs that includes Vioxx, Celebrex, Bextra, and other NSAIDs. All along, critics of these drugs saw them as dangerous, unnecessary, overpriced, “super aspirins” that would ultimately wind up injuring and killing people.

November 11, 12005

Lawyers: Next Vioxx Case Tough for Merck, TRENTON, N.J., Nov. 11, 2005, (AP) The next Vioxx product-liability case to come to trial in New Jersey will likely be a tougher battle for manufacturer Merck & Co., which last week got its first courtroom victory in a case involving short-term use of the now-withdrawn painkiller. New Jersey Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee, who is overseeing about 3,500 Vioxx lawsuits filed in New Jersey _ half the suits filed to date _ has told attorneys she wants the next group of trials to involve plaintiffs who took the drug for 18 months or more. Plaintiff lawyers said the judge appears to want to determine how such cases will play out in an attempt to encourage the settlement of some lawsuits.

November 11, 2005

Merck opposes judge's Vioxx trials plan, NEW YORK (Reuters) - Merck & Co. (MRK.N: Quote, Profile, Research) opposes a plan by a New Jersey judge to limit upcoming cases over the painkiller Vioxx to those involving users who took the drug for 18 months or longer, an attorney for the drugmaker said on Friday.
Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee, whose court is overseeing about half of the U.S. personal-injury suits involving Vioxx, will hold a hearing Thursday on the matter.

November 7, 2005

Court win does little to revive Merck, AP TRENTON — Last week's courtroom victory in a Vioxx liability case gave drug maker Merck & Co. a 1-1 record, but its executives will hardly have time to savor the win. The Readington-based pharmaceutical company is facing big problems — besides the 7,000 lawsuits to go. Among them: falling revenues and net income, two top drugs soon to lose billions in sales to generic competition, and stock shares mired at barely half their former level.

November 6, 2005

Merck can expect more highs, lows, Verdicts, fortunes and morale will certainly vary as the remaining 6,400 Vioxx cases come to trial. Minutes after Merck & Co. Inc.'s big victory last week in its second Vioxx trial, two predictable events put the win in sobering perspective. Merck's value on the New York Stock Exchange soared by $2.7 billion, or 4.2 percent, then fell like a slowly deflating balloon as investors digested the news, sliding by $483 million within a half hour. About the same time, Merck's general counsel, Kenneth Frazier, sent a memo to the company's 62,000 employees calling the verdict a vindication of Merck's actions and legal strategy over the blockbuster pain reliever. Then he threw some cold water. "We must put it in its appropriate context. There are more trials to come," Frazier wrote, according to a copy provided by an employee. For good measure, Frazier urged employees to keep their noses to the grindstone and "not allow media reports and courtroom battles to distract us.

November 4, 2005

Merck's Vioxx Victory May Not Help Future Cases, Analysts Say, (Bloomberg) - Merck & Co. can't savor yesterday's victory in the second trial over its Vioxx painkiller for long, say analysts and lawyers tracking the 6,400 other lawsuits the company faces for injuries or deaths linked to the drug. Merck, the No. 3 U.S. drugmaker, faces its next trial on Nov. 28 in Houston, where a widow of a Vioxx user claims her husband died after one month on the drug. Analysts say Merck faces billions of dollars in potential liability from such cases following its New Jersey victory.

November 3, 2005

Jury Rules in Favor of Merck in New Jersey Vioxx Case , A New Jersey jury yesterday ruled Merck & Co. as not legally responsible for the heart attack suffered by an Idaho man taking the arthritis painkiller Vioxx, saying that the company had warned doctors of the drug’s possible side effects. The case was heard in Atlantic County Superior Court before Judge Carol E. Higbee, who is overseeing more than 2,900 suits filed in state court in New Jersey against Merck, which is based in Whitehouse Station, N.J. In all, more than 6,400 lawsuits have been filed against Merck in state and federal courts, and tens of thousands more are expected.

November 2, 2005

For Vioxx plaintiff, waiting's not the hardest part, by JOHN CURRAN -- For the man in the eye of the Vioxx storm, it's all over but the waiting. As a jury deliberates his case against drug manufacturer Merck & Co., Frederick "Mike" Humeston wonders _ about the verdict, about his mortality, about what's in store for him and for others who say the painkiller did more than kill pain.

November 2, 2005

Jury resumes deliberations in New Jersey Vioxx case , ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. Jurors at the New Jersey Vioxx trial had lunch while continuing their deliberations. They're sifting through evidence in Atlantic City, New Jersey. That's as they decide whether Vioxx-maker Merck and Company misled the public about the drug's safety and whether Vioxx caused an Idaho man's heart attack.

November 2, 2005

Merck's future rides on VIOXX jury verdict, If Merck loses an Atlantic City trial on the health effects of its Vioxx painkiller, its troubles will get much worse. The verdict could come this week. By Jim Jubak. If Merck can't win a Vioxx trial in New Jersey, it can't win anywhere. Now that the closing arguments have closed in the Atlantic City, N.J., trial pitting the company against postal worker Frederick "Mike" Humeston, the company's future is in the hands of the six women and three men on a jury that could render a verdict this week.

November 2, 2005

No Verdict In N.J. Vioxx Trial, (AP) ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. A jury deliberated for 61/2 hours Wednesday without reaching a verdict in a product liability trial accusing Merck & Co.'s painkiller Vioxx of causing a man's heart attack. The six-woman, three-man panel -- which includes an assistant county prosecutor, a retired surgeon's wife and a teacher -- will try again Thursday to decide whether the drug played a part in the heart attack suffered by Frederick "Mike" Humeston, a postal worker from Boise, Idaho.

November 1, 2005

Merck knew of Vioxx dangers: plaintiff's lawyer, New Jersey (Reuters) - Merck & Co. Inc. knew its painkiller Vioxx increased the risk of heart attacks and failed to inform doctors and the public in order to protect profits, an attorney for a man who blames the withdrawn drug for his 2001 heart attack told jurors on Tuesday. In his closing argument, Christopher Seeger, lead attorney for the plaintiff in the second Vioxx case to go to trial, accused Merck of concealing evidence that the drug was associated with a rate of heart attacks five times higher than for from another common pain reliever, naproxen.

November 1, 2005

N.J. Jury Begins Deliberating Vioxx Case, AP, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- A state court jury hearing a Vioxx product liability case brought by a postal worker against the drugmaker Merck deliberated about an hour Tuesday without reaching a verdict and was then sent home for the night after getting the case earlier in the day.

November 1, 2005

New Jersey Vioxx Case Goes To Jury, (AP) A state court jury in a closely watched Vioxx product liability case began deliberating Tuesday afternoon, capping a seven-week trial in which drug manufacturer Merck & Co. was accused of knowingly misrepresenting the safety risks of its blockbuster arthritis drug. The six-woman, three-man panel on Tuesday heard the closing argument of a lawyer for an Idaho postal worker blaming Vioxx for his heart attack. Lawyer Chris Seeger called Merck a "monster" and told jurors that their verdict will send a message about what is acceptable when marketing drugs.

October 31, 2005

Summary of Monday's developments in New Jersey VIOXX Case, October 31, 2005, 5:39 PM EST

MONDAY'S DEVELOPMENTS: In closing arguments, Merck & Co.'s lead lawyer insisted there was no evidence Vioxx caused the heart attack of plaintiff Frederick "Mike" Humeston. In a nearly three-hour closing, lawyer Diane Sullivan also told jurors the U.S. Food and Drug Administration endorsed the drug as safe and that Merck never tried to hide unfavorable data from clinical studies of the drug. "The FDA has never concluded that Merck did not adequately warn about Vioxx, and I think that's important," said Sullivan.

BACKGROUND: Humeston, 60, a postal worker from Boise, Idaho, took Vioxx to ease pain from a knee injury suffered as a U.S. Marine fighting in Vietnam. He claims Vioxx use triggered his Sept. 18, 2001 heart attack, and blames Merck for failing to warn doctors and consumers about the risks of Vioxx. Merck, which put the prescription painkiller, Vioxx, on the market in 1999 and pulled it last year after a study showed increased risk of heart attacks and strokes after more than 18 months' use, says Humeston was at risk for heart disease as a 56-year-old man with elevated blood pressure, low levels of "good cholesterol" and too much weight on his 6-foot-1 inch frame.

WHAT'S NEXT: On Tuesday, Humeston attorney Chris Seeger gets his last chance to swing the six-woman, three-man jury to his side, delivering his closing argument before Superior Court Judge Carol E. Higbee instructs jurors on the law. Deliberations may begin Tuesday.

October 31, 2005

Closing arguments start in 2nd Vioxx trial, By JOHN CURRAN, Associated Press WriterOCT. 31 1:02 P.M. ET Merck & Co.'s lead lawyer urged jurors not to hold the maker of Vioxx responsible for plaintiff Frederick "Mike" Humeston's heart attack four years ago as closing arguments began Monday in the second product liability trial of the now-withdrawn painkiller. Lawyer Diane Sullivan told jurors that earlier this year federal regulators said risk of heart attacks does not rise with short-term use of the class of drugs that includes Vioxx.

October 31, 2005

Closing Arguments Begin in New Jersey VIOXX Case, (Reuters) - Work-related stress and other risk factors caused a former postal worker's heart attack and not the withdrawn painkiller Vioxx, Merck & Co Inc.'s lead attorney said in closing arguments at the second Vioxx trial on Monday. "The best common sense explanation for Mr. Humeston's heart attack is the stress he had in September of 2001," Merck attorney Diane Sullivan told the jury. The suit was brought by Frederick "Mike" Humeston, a 60-year-old Idaho postal worker who blames Vioxx for his 2001 heart attack. Humeston had been taking Vioxx for about two months to relieve knee pain stemming from a Vietnam War wound.

October 30, 2005

New Jersey Vioxx Verdict Carries Big Stakes for Merck, By JOHN CURRAN, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - For Merck & Co., another courtroom defeat over its painkiller Vioxx would be a prescription for trouble. The pharmaceutical company, whose fortunes soared partly on the strength of the drug's popularity, is nervously awaiting the outcome of the second Vioxx product liability case to go to trial. A jury is expected to decide this week whether the Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based company is liable for the heart attack suffered by Idaho postal worker Frederick "Mike" Humeston. Closing arguments are scheduled for Monday, with jurors likely to get the case either Monday or Tuesday.

October 28, 2005

Closings set for Monday in New Jersey VIOXX case, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Lawyers for Merck & Co. and a postal worker suing the company over Vioxx met privately with the judge in the case again Friday, negotiating over the wording of instructions she will give to jurors before they begin deliberating. After seven weeks of testimony, Frederick "Mike" Humeston's case against the Vioxx manufacturer is expected to go to the jury Monday or Tuesday. Closing arguments are scheduled for Monday.

October 28, 2005

Judge pushes back New Jersey Vioxx trial closings arguments to Monday, Closing arguments at the second liability trial over Merck & Co. Inc.'s Vioxx painkiller will be held Monday, not today as originally scheduled, a New Jersey judge ruled. Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee pushed back summations in Atlantic City after meeting with lawyers for Merck and Frederick Humeston, an Idaho postal worker who blames his 2001 heart attack on Vioxx.

October 27, 2005 | Summary of Today's Develpments in the New Jersey VIOXX case

Summary of Thursday's Developments in Atlantic City Trial

October 27, 2005, 4:51 PM EDT | Summary of Thursday's developments in New Jersey VIOXX trial

THURSDAY'S DEVELOPMENTS: Closing arguments in the seven-week trial, which had been scheduled for Friday, were postponed until Monday after lawyers met behind closed doors with state Superior Court Judge Carol E. Higbee to discuss jury charges and other issues.

BACKGROUND: Merck & Co. is on trial over its now-withdrawn painkiller Vioxx, which Idaho postal worker Frederick "Mike" Humeston blames for the heart attack he suffered Sept. 18, 2001. Merck, which acknowledges links between Vioxx and heart attacks after 18 months' use, says Humeston took it for only two months and was stricken because of his own health problems, not Vioxx.

WHAT'S NEXT: Closing arguments are planned for Monday, after which Higbee will instruct the jury and send them out to begin deliberations.

October 27, 2005

New Jersey Vioxx trial jurors have a lot to digest, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - When six women and three men retire to a jury room in the Atlantic County Civil Courthouse to begin deliberating in the second Vioxx product liability case, they'll have plenty to consider. After seven weeks, 21 witnesses, hundreds of documents and enough testimony to fill 5,764 pages of trial transcript, they face a daunting task - deciding whether Vioxx caused a postal worker's heart attack and whether drug maker Merck & Co. is liable for it.

October 27, 2005

Defense rests case in New Jersey Vioxx product-liability trial, ATLANTIC CITY — Merck & Co. rested its defense yesterday in a high-stakes Vioxx product liability trial — and none too soon for jurors, who apparently have been pondering how to wind down from the rigors of the seven-week trial. Closing arguments are scheduled for tomorrow in the case, which centers on an Idaho postal worker who blames his heart attack on Vioxx.

October 25, 2005

New Jersey Vioxx case judge amends ruling on key FDA memoOCT. 25 4:12 P.M. ET A day after refusing to admit a U.S. Food and Drug Administration memo into evidence, the judge hearing a Vioxx product liability case had a change of heart, telling lawyers for both sides they could discuss its key conclusions but not show it to jurors. In an unexpected twist, state Superior Court Judge Carol E. Higbee ruled Tuesday that an expert cardiologist testifying for Vioxx maker Merck & Co. could be questioned about the memo. It said other anti-inflammatory drugs also carry risk of heart attack, stroke and death.

October 21, 2005

Courtroom Wrangling Over Vioxx Escalates, By JOHN CURRAN Associated Press Writer, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. Oct 21, 2005 — A Merck & Co. scientist who says the company took steps to investigate the safety of its Vioxx painkiller denied Friday that the company attempted to downplay the drug's risks. In a boisterous courtroom session that repeatedly forced Superior Court Judge Carol E. Higbee to play referee for bickering lawyers, Dr. Barry Gertz rejected a plaintiff's lawyer's assertion that Merck tried to put the "best face" on data from clinical studies when it published them

October 21, 2005

Merck scientist: Animal studies counter risk, Friday, October 21, 2005, BY GEORGE E. JORDAN, Star-Ledger Staff, Amid repeated objections and delays, a top Merck scientist yesterday testified the drugmaker conducted experiments on dogs and rabbits that convinced him the painkiller Vioxx was safe. Barry Gertz, an executive vice president with the Whitehouse Station-based company, said the four studies in the late 1990s were aimed at better understanding the relationship between Vioxx and prostacyclin, a substance produced by the body that inhibits blood clots.

October 20, 2005

Merck expert defends explanation for man's heart attack, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. Several testy exchanges happened today during cross examination at the Vioxx trial in Atlantic City, New Jersey. A cardiologist who says the Merck painkiller wasn't to blame for the plaintiff's 2001 heart attack acknowledged that he was unsure whether the man had a family history of heart disease. The plaintiff's lawyer showed jurors two medical records that said Frederick Humeston's family members had no history of cardiac ailments.

October 20, 2005

Top Merck researcher says many studies proved Vioxx safe, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. Jurors at the Vioxx trial in Atlantic City, New Jersey, are hearing from a top Merck executive. Doctor Barry Gertz says the New Jersey-based pharmaceutical giant did several studies on animals that proved the safety of its now-withdrawn painkiller. An Idaho postal worker blames his intermittent use of Vioxx over two months for his heart attack in 2001.

October 20, 2005

Merck cites animal studies as basis for Vioxx safety, By Thomas Ginsberg, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER, ATLANTIC CITY - The trial over the pain-reliever Vioxx took a zoological turn today, with a Merck & Co. Inc. scientist saying several studies on dogs and rabbits convinced him and others in the late 1990s that Vioxx was safe for the human heart. The testimony by Merck's executive vice president for clinical studies, Barry J. Gertz, was intended to prove Merck did not know about the cardiovascular risk of Vioxx when it was taken in 2001 by an Idaho postal worker, Frederick "Mike" Humeston, who claims Merck should have known that Vioxx carried of risk of heart attacks.

October 18, 2005

Testimony centers on formula for Vioxx, By Associated Press | October 18, 2005, ATLANTIC CITY -- Merck & Co. executives privately discussed adding a compound to Vioxx to make the blockbuster painkiller protect the heart the way aspirin does, a company researcher said yesterday, five weeks into a trial over whether the now-off-the-market drug caused a man's heart attack.In the third and final day of cross-examination of Merck researcher Dr. Alise Reicin, an attorney for a man who blames Vioxx for his heart attack discussed the company's actions after a March 2000 study showed people using Vioxx had five times as many heart attacks as those using naproxen, an older, cheaper pain reliever.

October 18, 2005

Cardiologist: Vioxx did not cause postal worker's heart attack, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. A cardiologist says a man who's suing New Jersey-based Merck over use of the drug Vioxx -- had a buildup of plaque in his arteries. Doctor Theodore Tyberg says the buildup was not caused by the since-withdrawn painkiller. Tyberg is a witness for Merck. His conclusions on direct questioning differed with a cardiology expert who testified for the plaintiff at the trial in Atlantic City, New Jersey, last month.
The plaintiff blames Vioxx for causing his heart attack.

October 18, 2005

Vioxx memo warned of 'wishful thinking', By Thomas Ginsberg, Inquirer Staff Writer, ATLANTIC CITY - A Merck & Co. Inc. senior executive told his colleagues in 2001 that they might be drawing "pre-conceived" hypotheses and engaging in "wishful thinking" over the safety of their blockbuster pain reliever Vioxx, documents show. The memo, along with a Merck internal document projecting $437 million in lost revenue if Vioxx turned out to be risky for the heart, was presented during a day of testimony yesterday in the case of Frederick "Mike" Humeston, 60, an Idaho Vioxx user and heart-attack patient who contends Merck tried to mask the drug's risks. Merck counters that Humeston's personal risk factors, not Vioxx, caused his 2001 heart attack.

October 18, 2005

Cardiologist tells jury Idaho man had heart-attack risk factors, By Josh Goldstein, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER, ATLANTIC CITY - Merck & Co. Inc. resumed its defense in the first New Jersey Vioxx trial today with a cardiologist who testified that Frederick "Mike" Humeston was at risk for the heart attack the 60-year-old postal worker claims was caused by the pain reliever. Theodore Tyberg, an associate professor of cardiology at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Cornell, showed that plaque had built up in Humeston's coronary arteries prior to his 2001 heart attack. Tyberg used Humeston's medical records to show the New Jersey Superior Court jury the mechanisms of how plaque deposits in arteries can rupture and lead to a blockage that results in a heart attack.

October 17, 2005

Merck executive admits company considered new Vioxx formula, By BONNIE PFISTER, Associated Press Writer, October 17, 2005, 6:49 PM EDT, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Merck & Co. executives privately discussed adding a compound to Vioxx to make the blockbuster painkiller protect the heart the way aspirin does, a company researcher said Monday, five weeks into a trial over whether the now-withdrawn drug caused a man's heart attack. In the third and final day of cross-examination of Merck researcher Dr. Alise Reicin, a lawyer for a man who blames Vioxx for his heart attack discussed the company's actions after a March 2000 study showed people using Vioxx had five times as many heart attacks as those using naproxen, an older, cheaper pain reliever.

October 15, 2005

Scientist spends third day on stand in Vioxx trial, Saturday, October 15, 2005, BY JEFF MAY
Star-Ledger Staff, A scientific witness for Merck in New Jersey's first Vioxx trial was called a "tireless defender of the Vioxx franchise" by her boss, and led a company team that helped commercialize the painkiller. Merck is relying on the research credentials and poise of Alise Reicin, a vice president of clinical research for the Whitehouse Station- based drugmaker, to sway jurors in the product-liability lawsuit of Frederick "Mike" Humeston, which finished its fifth week in state Superior Court in Atlantic City.

October 13, 2005

Merck researcher defends Vioxx test results at trial, Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 10/13/05, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, ATLANTIC CITY — A lawyer for the Idaho postal worker who blames Vioxx for his September 2001 heart attack grilled a Merck & Co. researcher Wednesday about why the company did not alert doctors over deaths among certain Vioxx users five months earlier. In Vioxx's second product liability trial, attorney David Buchanan questioned researcher Dr. Alise Reicin about death rates of people in clinical studies meant to see if Vioxx could also be used to treat Alzheimer's disease.

October 13, 2005

Merck ex-chief on caustic e-mail, By videotape, the research head explained insulting remarks he made in memos about U.S. regulators, By Thomas Ginsberg, Inquirer Staff Writer, ATLANTIC CITY - Merck & Co. Inc.'s former research chief, testifying by videotape yesterday, claimed his own insulting description of federal regulators in a 2001 e-mail was meant as a benign inside joke for colleagues. Edward Scolnick, now retired, sought to distance himself from his own caustic language in internal memos obtained by attorneys for Frederick "Mike" Humeston, 60, an Idaho postal worker and Vietnam War veteran, who contends that Vioxx caused his 2001 heart attack after just a few weeks of use.

October 13, 2005

Merck Faces Surge of New Vioxx Lawsuits, TRENTON, N.J., Oct. 13, 2005, (AP) Eight weeks after a Texas jury handed drug maker Merck & Co. a $253 million verdict in its first Vioxx product liability trial, the number of Vioxx lawsuits is rising like floodwater. More than 1,000 new Vioxx cases have been filed in New Jersey alone since late August, including 800 in September, and over 500 new cases are pending in federal court. Based on interviews by The Associated Press, Whitehouse Station-based Merck now faces well over 6,500 Vioxx lawsuits, up from about 5,000 in the company's last status report.

October 13, 2005

Merck scientist explains why data went unpublished, Says Vioxx didn't cause deaths, Thursday, October 13, 2005, BY JEFF MAY, Star-Ledger Staff, Merck did not publicize data about an increased risk of mortality for Vioxx users in two Alzheimer's studies because company scientists did not believe the painkiller was the cause, a researcher for the drugmaker testified yesterday.

October 11, 2005

Columbus Day brings break in Vioxx trial, Merck gets a breath in second Vioxx trail, Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 10/11/05, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, TRENTON — Monday's Columbus Day holiday gave Merck & Co. some extra time to regroup after Friday's setback in the Vioxx product liability trial. Superior Court Judge Carol E. Higbee struck the testimony of Merck researcher Dr. Briggs Morrison from the record, saying he was not an expert on the studies he had told the jury about Thursday, nor did Merck give the court sufficient notice about what he would discuss. Following Higbee's ruling Friday, Merck made its sixth request for a mistrial, saying that it is unfair to toss Morrison's testimony. Higbee issued her sixth denial

October 10, 2005

Rough start for Merck defense, Analysts debate whether a courtroom shouting match will help the company in its second Vioxx trial, October 10, 2005: 7:04 PM EDTNEW YORK (Reuters) - Merck & Co. Inc. has only started presenting its defense in the second Vioxx trial, but one thing seems clear: The company's lawyers have gotten off to a shaky start. Already reeling from a big loss in the first Vioxx trial -- and harsh criticism of how its legal team handled that case -- Merck (up $1.05 to $26.90, Research) has a lot riding on the product liability trial under way in its home state of New Jersey. But experts say the drug company's lawyers may be struggling to regroup after New Jersey Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee on Friday threw out the testimony of Merck's first witness, research executive Briggs Morrison, prompting an unusual shouting match between the judge and a Merck lawyer.

October 10, 2005

Merck uses holiday to rethink defense strategy in New Jersey VIOXX case, Standard practice: Lawyers in class-action cases can craft their cases by seeing what other lawyers are up to, TRENTON, N.J. - Monday's Columbus Day holiday gave Merck & Co. some extra time to regroup after Friday's setback in the Vioxx product liability trial. Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee on Friday struck the testimony of Merck researcher Briggs Morrison from the record, saying he was not an expert on the studies he had told the jury about Thursday, nor did Merck give the court sufficient notice about what he would discuss.

October 9, 2005

Merck's defense starts on wrong foot, Drugmaker must rethink strategy, legal experts say, Sunday, October 09, 2005, BY GEORGE E. JORDAN, Star-Ledger Staff, It was no way for Merck to begin its defense in New Jersey's first Vioxx trial. The Atlantic City courtroom was thrown into chaos Friday when the testimony of Briggs Morrison, a Merck scientist and the drugmaker's first witness, was stricken entirely from the record. Before it was over, Merck lawyer Diane Sullivan was yelling at Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee and the judge was shouting back, threatening to have her removed from the courtroom.

October 8, 2005

Vioxx Trial Degenerates Into Shouting Match as Merck’s Attorneys Vociferously Challenge Judge’s Ruling to Strike Testimony of Key Defense Witness, Date Published: October 8, 2005, Source: Newsinferno.com News Staff, Instead of a dignified legal proceeding, the latest Vioxx trial has became a street fight between Merck’s attorneys and Judge Carol Higbee on Friday. The defense team’s frustration with the court’s rulings has been building since the week before the trial. At that time, Judge Higbee denied Merck’s motion to adjourn the trial on the ground that publicity from the $253 million Texas verdict against the company would have a prejudicial effect on the jury in New Jersey.

October 7, 2005

Judge strikes Merck witness testimony in Vioxx case, Fri Oct 7, 2005 12:26 PM ETBy Jon Hurdle, ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey (Reuters) - The judge in the second Vioxx trial on Friday ordered that the testimony of Merck & Co. Inc.'s first defense witness be stricken from the record, saying he overstepped his role as a fact witness. New Jersey Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee said that the testimony on Thursday of Briggs Morrison, a vice president for Merck Research Labs, went "way beyond" his role as a witness of fact as had been stated by Merck's defense team. Merck is being sued by Frederick Humeston, an Idaho postal worker who blames the company's withdrawn painkiller Vioxx for his 2001 heart attack.

October 6, 2005

Plaintiffs' lawyers rest in Vioxx lawsuit, By Associated Press | October 6, 2005, ATLANTIC CITY -- Plaintiffs' lawyers in the nation's second lawsuit linking Merck's discontinued painkiller Vioxx to heart ailments rested their case yesterday after three weeks of testimony by 14 witnesses. Humeston's lawyers questioned staffers at the drug maker about delays in making internal concerns over Vioxx's heart risks public. The executives countered that they publicized risks they knew about and withdrew Vioxx from the market a year ago after new research indicated extended use could double the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

October 6, 2005

Scientist: Merck debated risks to the last minute, Marketing execs claim ignorance of management's concerns for Vioxx, Thursday, October 06, 2005, BY GEORGE E. JORDAN, Star-Ledger Staff, A former Merck scientist testified yesterday that senior company researchers and consultants debated Vioxx's heart-related health risks right up until the company asked the Food and Drug Administration for final permission to sell the drug.

October 4, 2005

Wife of Vioxx plaintiff recalls her fear during heart attack, Spouse describes its effects on her husband, says she's sure Merck's drug was the cause, Tuesday, October 04, 2005, BY GEORGE E. JORDAN, Star-Ledger Staff, Mary Humeston struggled to keep her composure yesterday as she recounted the night doctors and nurses rushed to treat her husband for a heart attack he claims was triggered by Vioxx.

October 4, 2005

Vioxx user's arteries called clean, Doctor says he saw no significant plaque buildup, By Bloomberg News | October 4, 2005, ATLANTIC CITY -- An Idaho postal worker who blames his 2001 heart attack on Merck & Co.'s Vioxx painkiller had large, ''pretty clean" coronary arteries when he entered the hospital, his emergency room cardiologist testified. Frederick Humeston had smooth arteries without significant buildup of plaque when he suffered a minor heart attack on Sept. 18, 2001, Dr. Graham Wetherly said at the second product liability trial over the drug. Merck blames Humeston's heart attack on conditions caused by his weight, blood pressure, and stress.

October 3, 2005

Summary of Vioxx litigation, Associated Press

TESTIMONY: Mary Humeston said her husband took 50 milligrams of Vioxx the day he had his heart attack. But under cross-examination, Humeston acknowledged she did not keep close tabs on when her husband took Vioxx or other painkillers. Dr. Graham Wetherley testified that aside from damage to a single vessel in the lower part of Mike Humeston's heart, the Idaho postal worker's heart vessels were healthy.

BACKGROUND: Humeston's suit is the second of about 5,000 product liability lawsuits over Vioxx to come to trial. Last month, a Texas jury found Merck liable for the death of a man who had taken Vioxx.

WHAT'S NEXT: Humeston's attorney's plan to rest their case Wednesday, following the Rosh Hashanah holiday. Merck will call its first witness Thursday.

October 3, 2005

Vioxx plaintiff's wife says he took drug the day of heart attack, By BONNIE PFISTER, Associated Press Writer, October 3, 2005, 6:42 PM EDT, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- The wife of an Idaho postal worker who blames Vioxx for his 2001 heart attack told jurors Monday her husband took 50 milligrams of the popular arthritis drug the day she rushed him to the emergency room with chest pains. In the second product liability trial against Vioxx maker Merck & Co., Mary Humeston, married to Frederick "Mike" Humeston for 32 years, testified about his use of the Merck & Co. drug for ongoing pain related to shrapnel wounds sustained during combat in Vietnam.

October 3, 2005

Judge again denies mistrial in Vioxx case, 03 Oct 2005 16:54:55 GMT, By Jon Hurdle
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., Oct 3 (Reuters) - A judge on Monday for a fifth time rejected a motion by lawyers for Merck & Co. Inc. <MRK.N> to declare a mistrial in a trial in which a man sued the company, claiming the Merck painkiller Vioxx caused his 2001 heart attack. Merck's attorneys, in their latest attempt to have a mistrial declared, based the motion on a witness not following instructions from the judge about mentioning during testimony that Vioxx had been pulled from the market.

October 3, 2005

Now it’s Merck’s turn, 10/03/05, By ANDRIA Y. CARTER, Trentonian Business Editor, TRENTON -- Plaintiff attorneys in the Vioxx product liability trial in Atlantic City are expected to wrap up their case as the fourth week testimony begins today. Boise, Idaho postal worker Frederick "Mike" Humeston filed a suit against Merck & Co. claiming the pain relief drug Vioxx caused his hea

October 2, 2005

Alzheimer's studies add another disturbing dimension to Vioxx case, Sunday, October 02, 2005, BY ED SILVERMAN AND JEFF MAY, Star-Ledger Staff, When Merck yanked Vioxx last year, the drugmaker blamed links to heart attacks. But the Vioxx trial under way in Atlantic City has shone a spotlight on an equally disturbing finding -- a pair of studies in Alzheimer's patients that showed Vioxx users were more likely to die than patients given dummy pills.

October 1, 2005

Vioxx called 'anti-aspirin',Saturday, October 1, 2005, By CARY O'REILLY, BLOOMBERG NEWS, ATLANTIC CITY - Merck & Co.'s Vioxx painkiller acts as an "anti-aspirin," encouraging the formation of blood clots that can lead to heart attacks in patients who are under stress, a cardiologist told a jury Friday in Atlantic City.

September 30, 2005

Summary of developments in New Jersey VIOXX trial, The Associated Press, Friday, September 30, 2005.

WITNESSES: Dr. Nicholas DePace, a heart expert, resumed his direct examination by lawyers for Frederick "Mike" Humeston and was cross-examined by Merck lawyer Diane Sullivan.

TESTIMONY: DePace, who believes Vioxx caused Humeston's heart attack, acknowledged under cross-examination that Humeston was overweight and had some high blood pressure readings even though he was never classified as hypertensive. But he insisted that given Humeston's overall physical condition and clear arteries, there had to have been a "triggering event" - he contends it was Vioxx - that prompted the clot that choked off an artery, leading to Humeston's heart attack.

September 30, 2005

Cardiologist: Humeston did have risk factors for heart disease, By JOHN CURRAN, Associated Press Writer, September 30, 2005, 6:34 PM EDT, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- A cardiology expert who says Vioxx may have caused a postal worker's heart attack acknowledged Friday that the man had some risk factors for heart disease and that thousands of Americans with no risk factors still have heart attacks every year. Attempting to establish other causes for Frederick "Mike" Humeston's Sept. 18, 2001 heart attack, Diane Sullivan, an attorney for Vioxx maker Merck & Co., showed jurors a document from Humeston's orthopedic doctor in which Humeston said his mother died of a heart attack. Humeston's doctors have said he had no family history of heart disease.

September 28, 2005

Summary of Wednesday's developments in Merck product liability trial, September 28, 2005, 6:47 PM EDT, Wednesday's developments at the Vioxx trial:

WITNESS: Frederick Humeston, the 60-year-old Idaho postal worker whose Sept. 18, 2001 heart attack spurred the case, testified for four hours about his history of knee problems, the events leading up to his heart attack and the effect it has had on his life.

TESTIMONY: The heart attack felt like nothing he'd ever experienced, he said. "It's a hard, crisp pain and it doesn't back off." Since then, he said, he has been weak and depressed and unable to enjoy hiking, tinkering with cars, home improvements and yard work. On cross-examination, Merck & Co. attorney Christy Jones showed medical records establishing that Humeston had a history of stress, was treated for heart palpitations in 1973 and was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse in 1981.

September 28, 2005

Vioxx plaintiff testifies about illness, By John Curran, Associated Press Writer | September 28, 2005, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. --A postal worker who blames his heart attack on Vioxx on Wednesday emotionally described how he went from feeling "bulletproof" to unmanly after his 2001 heart attack. Occasionally fighting back tears, Frederick "Mike" Humeston, a 60-year-old Vietnam veteran, said he began taking the Merck & Co. painkiller two months earlier.

September 28, 2005

Plaintiff takes stand in Vioxx trial, Sep 28, 2005 — By Jon Hurdle, ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey (Reuters) - A Vietnam War veteran who blames Merck & Co. Inc.'s Vioxx painkiller for his 2001 heart attack told jurors in sometimes emotional testimony on Wednesday that the attack left him depressed, exhausted and with an impaired sex life. Frederick "Mike" Humeston, 60, whose lawsuit against Merck is the second Vioxx case to go to trial, testified that, prior to his heart attack, he had a clean health record. The Idaho postal worker said he never smoked and had never been told by doctors to lose weight or reduce his cholesterol.

September 27, 2005

Summary of developments in New Jersey product liability case, September 27, 2005, 6:23 PM EDT, Tuesday's developments at the Vioxx trial:

WITNESS: Edward Scolnick, Merck's former chief scientist, testified via videotaped deposition played for jurors.

TESTIMONY: Scolnick, who retired from Merck in 2002, said Merck did not tell physicians or its sales representatives about the results of clinical studies among Alzheimer's patients in which Vioxx users died. On cross-examination, he said some deaths were from cancer and other causes, which Merck says is why the information was not widely distributed.

September 27, 2005

Ex-Merck official says doctors not shown Vioxx data, Tue Sep 27, 2005 8:46 PM, NEW YORK (Reuters) - Merck & Co. Inc.'s ex-research chief, in video testimony played for New Jersey jurors on Tuesday, acknowledged that data from studies on the effects of the painkiller Vioxx on Alzheimer's disease patients, showing an increased incidence of deaths, were not immediately disclosed to physicians.

September 27, 2005

Scientist: Vioxx Data Not Made Public, By JOHN CURRAN, Associated Press Writer, Tuesday, September 27, 2005(09-27) 16:58 PDT Atlantic City, N.J. (AP) , Alzheimer's disease patients who took Vioxx in two studies had higher death rates than those on a placebo, but Merck & Co. never notified physicians or its sales representatives, its former chief scientist conceded in testimony played in court Tuesday.

September 26, 2005

The VIOXX Story, Monday, September 26, 2005; Page A22, Regarding the accusations attorney Mark Lanier made in his Sept. 21 letter: Merck stands behind its scientific decisions and actions with respect to Vioxx. (Letter to the editor of the Washington Post from KENNETH C. FRAZIER, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Merck &amp; Co., Whitehouse Station, N.J.

September 26, 2005

Merck executive defends negotiations over Vioxx with FDA, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (MarketWatch) -- A senior Merck & Co. (MRK) executive on Monday defended his company's negotiations with regulators that ultimately kept data about potential cardiovascular problems out of the warning section of Vioxx's label.

September 26, 2005

Merck exec testifies about battle over Vioxx warning label, By JOHN CURRAN, Associated Press Writer, September 26, 2005, 3:21 PM EDT, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Fearing a warning about Vioxx's cardiac risks would hurt the painkiller's sales, Merck & Co. battled with federal regulators for two years to keep the information out of the "warnings" section of the package insert, the company's top marketing official testified Monday.

September 25, 2005

Former Merck scientist becomes lightning rod, In Vioxx trial, Ed Scolnick is cast as driver of drugmaker's policy, Sunday, September 25, 2005, BY ED SILVERMAN, Star-Ledger Staff, As a cadre of plaintiffs' lawyers have portrayed Merck as a greedy and insensitive drugmaker, they have repeatedly made one man the face of the beleaguered company: Ed Scolnick.

September 24, 2005

Merck marketing executive questioned about "neutralize" campaign, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. A Merck marketing executive today defended the New Jersey-based company's monitoring of physicians who spoke out against Vioxx.

September 23, 2005

Vioxx Heart Attack Risk Higher than Previously Thought, Date Published: September 23, 2005, Source: Newsinferno.com News Staff, Expert witnesses continued to hammer away at Merck & Co as the latest Vioxx product liability trial moved through its second week. On Wednesday, Edward Scolnick, a former Chief Scientist for Merck, testified via videotape about an email he sent to a Merck colleague. The email stated his fear that Vioxx was causing strokes, heart attacks, and other health problems. He called for Merck to do a cardiovascular study to insure that the drug was safe. Such a study never took place.

September 22, 2005

Short-term Vioxx use can double heart attack risk, expert says, Associated Press, SEP. 22 3:58 P.M. ET Even short-term use of the painkiller Vioxx can double the risk of heart attack and death, a medical statistics expert testified Thursday in a product liability trial, a finding that manufacturer Merck & Co. misrepresented.

September 21, 2005

Former Merck Scientist Had Vioxx Concerns, 09.21.2005, 02:17 PM, A former chief scientist of Merck & Co. had lingering concerns about the cardiovascular safety of the company's painkiller Vioxx several years ago, according to a videotaped deposition played in court Wednesday in a Vioxx product liability trial.

September 20, 2005

Judge intervenes in testy Vioxx witness, lawyer exchanges, Sept 20, 2005 ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey Verbal jousting between a defense lawyer and a key plaintiff's witness escalated during a New Jersey trial over Merck's painkiller Vioxx.

September 20, 2005

Jurors hear of FDA researcher's concerns on Vioxx, Tuesday 20 September 2005, 6:59pm EST, By Jon Hurdle, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., Sept 20 (Reuters) - The use of Merck & Co. Inc.'s painkiller Vioxx increased the incidence of heart disease in the United States by as much as 140,000 cases when it was on the market, a jury heard on Tuesday.

September 15, 2005

Vioxx trial judge warns of possible mistrial, Posted on: Thursday, 15 September 2005, 13:15 CDT, By Jon Hurdle, ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey (Reuters) - A judge on Thursday admonished a lawyer for Merck & Co. Inc. for violating her earlier instructions to avoid negative comments about attorneys and warned of "repercussions" -- including a possible mistrial -- if such conduct continued.

September 15, 2005

Judge in second Vioxx case reprimands Merck lawyer, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Threatening to declare a mistrial, the judge hearing a product liability suit over painkiller Vioxx reprimanded manufacturer Merck and Co.'s lead lawyer Thursday for violating an order barring comments about lawyers in front of the jury.

September 15, 2005

Second Vioxx trial begins in New Jersey court, 9:04 AM ET, [JURIST] Opening statements began Wednesday in the second trial against Merck over the distribution of its painkiller Vioxx. The plaintiff in this case is an Idaho postal worker who claims that taking Vioxx caused him to suffer a heart attack.

September 14, 2005

Lawyer: Man Was Active Before Taking Vioxx, By JOHN CURRAN, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - A lawyer for a man who blames Vioxx for his heart attack told jurors Wednesday that the man had an active lifestyle but was stricken within two months of beginning to take the painkiller.

September 14, 2005

Vioxx trial opens as Merck accused of hiding risks, Wed Sep 14, 2005 3:32 PM ET, by Martha Graybow, ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey (Reuters) - Merck & Co. Inc. knew of heart risks linked to its painkiller Vioxx but kept them from doctors and patients as it pursued big profits, a lawyer for a man who blames the drug for his heart attack said at the second Vioxx trial on Wednesday.

September 14, 2005

Second trial under way against Vioxx maker, The Associated Press/Atlantic City, N.J., By JOHN CURRAN , Sep. 14 10:34 A.M. ET A lawyer for a man who blames Vioxx for his heart attack told jurors Wednesday that the man led an active lifestyle before he began taking the painkiller but was stricken within two months as a result.

September 12, 2005

Second Vioxx trial begins, The Associated Press, Published: 09/12/05, PHILADELPHIA - The nation's second Vioxx trial will begin today in Atlantic City, pitting a Vietnam War veteran against the New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company whose travails have reverberated across the industry, Wall Street and Congress.

September 12, 2005

Merck to Deny Any Vioxx Link to Heart Attack in Second Trial, Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Merck & Co., ordered last month to pay $253 million to a Vioxx user's widow, will argue in a second trial that opens today that its painkiller did not cause the heart attack of an ex-Marine.

September 11, 2005

Merck vows to press ahead with Vioxx defense, Sun Sep 11, 2005 4:45 PM BST, NEW YORK (Reuters) - On the eve of a second court battle over its arthritis drug Vioxx, Merck & Co. Inc. said on Friday it does not plan to enter into any global settlement of the thousands of Vioxx lawsuits it faces and is focused on "defending these cases one at a time."

September 11, 2005

Merck gears up for long Vioxx battle, By Christopher Bowe in New York, Published: September 11 2005 20:11, Merck will start with a potential bonus on Monday in its second trial over personal injury claims related to its withdrawn drug Vioxx, as the New Jersey state court could limit evidence the jury hears to determine negligence.

September 11, 2005

Vioxx case hits home, Sunday, September 11, 2005, By LEWIS KRAUSKOPF, STAFF WRITER, Starting Monday, lawyers, Wall Street analysts and former users of Vioxx will turn their eyes to a state court in Atlantic City. Jury selection begins in the first of nearly 2,500 product liability lawsuits filed in the court over the painkiller, which Merck & Co. withdrew from the market a year ago after a company study showed an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

September 9, 2005

Vioxx judge Bans use of 'inflammatory' words in drug-liability case, Friday, September 09, 2005, BY GEORGE E. JORDAN, Star-Ledger Staff, An Atlantic City judge yesterday barred lawyers and witnesses in the first Vioxx trial in New Jersey from using the words "ethics" or "morality" in discussing complex scientific issues and the liability of drugmaker Merck.

September 8, 2005

Don't bet on Merck's homefield advantage, While drugmaker won't face anti-corporate hostility it did in Texas, jurors will still be skeptical, September 8, 2005: 5:11 PM EDT, By Aaron Smith, CNN/Money staff writer, NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - After falling flat on its face in the first Vioxx trial in Texas, Merck is likely to face a less hostile group of potential jurors when the drugmaker heads to court next week in its home state of New Jersey.

September 8, 2005

In pretrial hearing, Merck succeeds in blocking business ethics expert, ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. An expert on business ethics won't be allowed to testify on behalf of a man who blames his heart attack on the painkiller Vioxx. The ruling came today from a judge in New Jersey, who'll preside over the product liability case against Merck.

September 7, 2005

Merck asks judge to ban cameras from Vioxx trial, Wed Sep 7, 2005, ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey (Reuters) - ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey (Reuters) - A judge on Wednesday set a hearing for Friday on Merck & Co. Inc.'s request to ban live broadcasts from the courtroom during the Vioxx product liability trial scheduled to begin next week. The pharmaceutical company filed a motion on Tuesday asking New Jersey Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee to refuse a request by the Court TV cable network to broadcast from inside the courtroom during the trial.

September 4, 2005

Merck Faces War Hero in Next Vioxx Trial, By LINDA A. JOHNSON, AP Business Writer, TRENTON, N.J., Frederick "Mike" Humeston, long bothered by knee pain from a Vietnam War wound, had been taking the painkiller Vioxx for barely two months when he had a heart attack four years ago. Now 60, the postal worker and ex-Marine has permanent heart muscle damage, is constantly fatigued and worries about increased risk of a second heart attack, said Chris Seeger, one of his lawyers.

August 30, 2005

Stage set in NJ for second Vioxx trial, August 30, 2005, NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pretrial motions continued on Tuesday for the upcoming second product-liability trial involving Merck & Co.'s withdrawn arthritis drug, Vioxx, this time in a New Jersey state court. Jury selection for the new trial is scheduled to begin on Sept. 12 in the Atlantic City courtroom of Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee.

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