Plaintiffs Seek Appeal of Court's Protective Order for Martin Report

NEW ORLEANS - Plaintiffs in the federal Vioxx MDL have requested that the court amend its recent order granting work-product protection to the Martin Report by certifying the order for interlocutory appeal, claiming that the court erred in finding the report was prepared primarily 'in anticipation of litigation.' In Re: Vioxx Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1657 (E.D. La.).

The Plaintiffs' Steering Committee says in a March 12 motion that business-related motives were also behind Merck & Co. Inc.'s November 2004 decision to order an internal investigation of the company's senior management following the global withdrawal of Vioxx from the …