MDL Judge Awards Work-Product Protection to 'Martin Report'

NEW ORLEANS - A federal judge has ruled that materials and communications underlying the 'Martin Report' are protected from plaintiffs' discovery by the work-product doctrine, finding that the 'primary motivating purpose' of the investigation was to aid in possible future Vioxx litigation. In Re: Vioxx Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1657 (E.D. La.).

Judge Eldon E. Fallon of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana further stated in the March 5 order that Merck & Co. Inc. did not waive work-product protection by publishing the results of the report and that plaintiffs have not demonstrated a substantial …