Vioxx Plaintiff Moves for $10 Million Remittitur in lieu of New Trial

NEW ORLEANS - A South Carolina man who won what the federal Vioxx MDL court has called a 'grossly excessive' $50 million verdict against Merck & Co. Inc. has requested that the court grant him a remittitur to $10 million rather than order a new trial on damages. In Re: Vioxx Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1657 (E.D. La.).

In papers filed Oct. 31 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, retired FBI agent Gerald D. Barnett, 62, says that each of the 10 years allegedly taken off his life by his use of Vioxx is …