Merck: Orders Issued by Disqualified Vioxx Judge Should be Voided

LOS ANGELES - Merck & Co. Inc. has asked the trial judge presiding over the California Consolidated Vioxx Proceedings to reconsider two forum non conveniens rulings issued by a judge who formerly presided over the litigation, but was disqualified for allegedly failing to reveal that he had previously taken the arthritis drug. In Re Vioxx Cases, JCCP No. 4247 (Calif. Super. Ct., Los Angeles Cty.).

In its Nov. 15 motion to reconsider Judge Peter Lichtman's 2003 decisions denying motions to dismiss the claims of two non-California residents, Merck asserts that the judge's eventual disqualification and the explosion of litigation since …