Second Federal Vioxx MDL Trial Postponed to July 31

NEW ORLEANS - Attorneys have announced that the second federal Vioxx MDL trial scheduled against Merck & Co. Inc. will be delayed one week and is now scheduled to begin July 31 because of a recent health problem experienced by the plaintiff. In Re: Vioxx Products Liability, MDL No. 1657 (E.D. La.).

The Plaintiffs' Steering Committee said on July 13 that plaintiff Gerald D. Barnett, 62, had recently been suffering from chest pain and required a stent to prop open one of his arteries.

In the case at issue, Barnett v. Merck & Co. Inc., No. 06-485, Barnett, a retired …