N.J. Judge Orders Merck to Disclose Expenses from Joint Vioxx Trial

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - The state judge overseeing New Jersey's Vioxx litigation has ordered Merck & Co. Inc. to produce for in camera review copies of its billing records relating to a joint trial in which jurors found the company had committed consumer fraud. In Re: Vioxx Litigation, Case No. 619 (N.J. Super. Ct., Atlantic Cty.).

Judge Carol E. Higbee of the Atlantic County Superior Court in an Oct. 17 letter to counsel and an accompanying memorandum of decision granted plaintiff counsel's motion to compel Merck's attorney billing and expenses, stating that the fees and costs paid by Merck are …