Merck Files Petition to Appeal Order Remanding Vioxx Action

ST. LOUIS - A Vioxx action amended more than six months after the enactment of the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 should not have been returned to Missouri state court by a federal trial judge, Merck argues in a recent petition to appeal the ruling. Plubell, et al. v. Merck & Co. Inc., No. 05-8020 (8th Cir.).

Merck filed the petition Oct. 26 in the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, arguing that the case is subject to CAFA requirements on numerous grounds, including the fact that the petition was amended to replace a lead plaintiff who never took …