Parties Dispute Physicians' Joinder in Federal Vioxx Lawsuits

NEW ORLEANS - A defendant physician in a federal Vioxx MDL lawsuit says he was fraudulently joined and should be dismissed, or, alternatively, the case should be remanded to state court for lack of complete diversity. In Re: Vioxx Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1657 (E.D. La.).

Ohio resident Rudy P. Zarate, M.D., also claims that additional non-diverse medical service providers were fraudulently joined by plaintiffs and Ohio residents William and Shirley Jeffries, and that the healthcare defendants did not consent to New Jersey-based defendant Merck & Co. Inc.'s removal of the case to federal court.

Following removal to the …