MDL Court Appoints Special Master, Suspends Employee Depositions

NEW ORLEANS - The federal Vioxx MDL has appointed a special master to review and make findings regarding thousands of documents over which Merck & Co. Inc. has asserted privilege, stating that the process will afford plaintiffs the benefit of an in camera review while giving Merck the opportunity to support its privilege claims. In Re: Vioxx Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1657 (E.D. La.).

On April 25, Judge Eldon E. Fallon, who is overseeing the MDL in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, appointed Professor Paul Rice of the Washington College of Law at American …