Doctor Who Wasn't Served with Vioxx Report Wasn't Fraudulently Joined, Judge Rules

DALLAS - A Texas plaintiff who failed to timely submit an expert report to a doctor she sued as part of her claim for Vioxx-related damages should not have had her claim removed to federal court based on improper joinder, a federal judge has held. Ward v. Merck & Co., Inc., et al., No. 04-0616 (N.D. Texas).

On Oct. 25, Judge Boyle of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas remanded the Vioxx injury claims asserted by Teresa Brannon Ward, after determining that removing defendant Merck & Co. failed to show that Ward had no intention of …