Plaintiff Urges MDL Court to Honor Magistrate's Remand Order

NEW ORLEANS - A plaintiff whose case was recently transferred to the Vioxx MDL after a magistrate judge ruled that it could be remanded to state court for lack of jurisdiction is requesting that the ruling be adopted by the MDL court. In Re: VIOXX Products Liability Litigation, 05-0431 (E.D. La.); Cook v. Merck & Co., Inc., et al., No. 02-2710 (N.D. Ala.).

William Cook argues in an April 14 response to Merck's objection to the magistrate's remand order that the case should be returned to state court because Alabama courts have unanimously held that causes of action against non-diverse …