State Judge Denies Class Certification to Vioxx Consumers

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - A New Jersey state judge has denied class certification to consumers seeking reimbursement of sums they paid for Merck & Co.'s Vioxx, which was withdrawn from the market in 2004 after a medical study linked the painkiller to heart disease. Kleinman v. Merck & Co., Nos. ATL-L-3954-04, ATL-L-24-05 (N.J. Super. Ct., Atlantic Cty.).

In a March 17 opinion, Judge Carol E. Higbee of the Atlantic County Superior Court ruled that establishing a causal nexus examination would require individualized inquiries into the plaintiffs' histories and backgrounds, rendering the proposed class unmanageable.

In their renewed motion for …