Judge Says Aggregation of Medical Monitoring Costs Inappropriate, Remands Cases

LOS ANGELES - A federal judge in California has remanded two Vioxx-related medical monitoring class actions, determining that defendant Merck & Co. failed to demonstrate that the damages sought by plaintiffs - either current or prospective - would exceed the jurisdictional limit. Pargar v. Merck & Company, Inc., et al., No. 04-9206; Bloom-Thomen v. Merck & Company, Inc., et al., No. 04-9245 (C.D. Calif.).

In orders issued Jan. 3, Judge John F. Walter of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California rejected Merck's argument that the cost to start up a medical monitoring fund for plaintiffs who …