Judge Denies Emergency Motion to Reconsider Decision Staying Vioxx Case

DALLAS - A federal judge has denied a Vioxx plaintiff's emergency motion to reconsider the court's order to stay the case pending a decision by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to create an MDL for federal Vioxx claims. Register v. Merck & Co., Inc., et al., No. 04-2259 (N.D. Texas).

Judge Jerry Buchmeyer of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued the order Dec. 7 after plaintiff Jack Register argued that the federal district court was in a far better position to address defendant Merck & Co.'s allegations of fraudulent joinder, which it asserted in …