Vioxx MDL Judge Orders Deposition of FDA's Dr. David Graham

NEW ORLEANS - A federal judge has denied the United States' motion to quash the Vioxx MDL plaintiffs' subpoena of FDA employee Dr. David Graham, ordering that the deposition proceed expeditiously but be limited to matters relevant to the litigation. In Re: Vioxx Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1657 (E.D. La.).

Judge Eldon E. Fallon, who oversees the federal Vioxx MDL in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, said on March 15 that the FDA's refusal to produce Dr. Graham for a deposition was arbitrary and capricious, and that the doctor's deposition would not subject the …