Judge Issues Sua Sponte Opinion Remanding Vioxx Class Action

CHICAGO - A federal judge has remanded a Vioxx class action sua sponte after determining that defendant Merck 'mischaracterized' the plaintiffs' claims in an attempt to prove that the amount at issue in the case exceeded the $75,000 threshold that would have kept the case in federal court. Ivory v. Merck & Co., Inc., No. 04-6762 (N.D. Ill.).

In an opinion issued Oct. 26, Judge Milton I. Shadur of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois remanded the case to the Cook County Circuit Court, determining that 'without question' it appeared the district court lacks subjection jurisdiction …