Single Case Selected for California's First Vioxx Trial

LOS ANGELES - The judge overseeing California's coordinated Vioxx proceedings has ordered a single case to proceed to trial in the state's first-ever Vioxx trial. Vioxx® Cases, JCCP No. 4247 (Calif. Super. Ct., Los Angeles Cty.).

Two cases were originally set to be tried simultaneously in Los Angeles County Superior Court, but Judge Victoria Chaney on June 20 agreed to sever the cases after Merck & Co. Inc. argued in motion papers that its counsel needed more time for discovery because of the potential of new medical evidence surfacing in the case of Rudolph Arrigale.

Jury selection began June 21 …