N.J. Designates Celebrex/Bextra Claims as 'Mass Torts'

TRENTON, N.J. - The New Jersey Supreme Court has designated Bextra and Celebrex litigation as a consolidated mass tort and assigned the docket to the judge currently handling the state's Vioxx cases in Atlantic County Superior Court. In RE: Bextra/Celebrex Litigation, Case No. 272 (N.J. Super. Ct., Atlantic Cty.).

According to a notice published Dec. 28 by the Administrative Office of the Courts, the high court issued an order Dec. 6 transferring all pending and future Bextra and Celebrex claims to Atlantic County for centralized case management purposes.

The docket has been assigned to Judge Carol E. Higbee, who has …