This multidistrict litigation consists of over
5,000 cases currently pending before this Court. Many cases are also
pending in state courts. In these cases, the plaintiffs have filed
suit alleging certain actual and potential risks associated with the
medication known generically as Vioxx. Defendants Merck & Co., Inc.
produced Vioxx to treat arthritis and acute pain. The plaintiffs
contend that Vioxx caused death and other injuries to themselves or
their family members who took Vioxx.
The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict
Litigation assigned this multidistrict proceeding to Judge Eldon E.
Fallon of the United States District Court for the Eastern District
of Louisiana to coordinate discovery and other pretrial matters in
the pending cases. Subsequent Vioxx cases filed in federal court
will ordinarily be transferred to this district court to become part
of MDL No. 1657 as "Tag Along" cases. Upon the conclusion of
discovery and other pretrial matters, the cases that constitute MDL
No. 1657 will be transferred back to the federal district courts
from which they originated for the trial and further proceedings.
