Judge Denies Motion to Stay Texas Vioxx Suit in Wake of Motion to Create MDL

HOUSTON - A federal judge has refused to stay a Texas Vioxx lawsuit after defendant Merck & Co. asked that the case be put on hold while the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) decides whether similar cases filed around the country will be consolidated for discovery purposes. Stubblefield v. Merck & Co. Inc., No. 02-3139 (S.D. Texas).

In a Nov. 9 decision, Judge Vanessa D. Gilmore of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas denied Merck's motion to stay the case because the discovery deadline had already expired. Judge Gilmore, however, granted the defendant's unopposed motion …