NEW YORK, March 31, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- In a unanimous decision with national significance, the New Jersey Appellate Division today upheld a trial court's decision certifying a Vioxx-related nationwide class action against Merck (NYSE:MRK), brought on behalf of third-party payors by Seeger Weiss LLP, a nationally-recognized complex class action firm. The March 31, 2006 decision is the second and more significant blow to Merck and Co., Inc., in this consumer protection-related litigation, which has now twice attempted to prevent the class action from proceeding forward.
The Appellate Division concluded that New Jersey Superior Court Judge Carol E. Higbee properly exercised her discretion in certifying a nationwide class, which consists of all non-governmental health plans that paid for members' Vioxx prescriptions, and which asserts claims against Merck under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act to recover losses incurred in purchasing the now-withdrawn painkiller for their health plans. Judge Higbee, on July 29, 2005, had granted a motion by the class representative, a labor union health plan, to allow the lawsuit to proceed as a nationwide class-action, based on allegations that Merck engaged in widespread and systematic concealment of information concerning the safety and serious health risks of Vioxx. Merck, based in Whitehouse Station, N.J., had opposed the motion, which was filed by Seeger Weiss on behalf of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local #68 Welfare Fund and all other similarly-situated third-party payors. Merck appealed Judge Higbee's ruling against it to the New Jersey Appellate Division.
Chris Seeger, the lead attorney for the union health plan, states that "the decision applies to all non-governmental third-party payors in the country, including health insurers, unions, and large employers, who paid for Vioxx prescriptions for their plan members. The decision also allows for all such third-party payors in the country to prosecute their allegations of being misled by Merck's misrepresentations and concealments concerning Vioxx in one class action, rather than in a multitude of individual actions."
Vioxx, which had peak sales of $2.5 billion annually, was on the market from May 1999 through September 2004, when Merck voluntarily withdrew it in the wake of a clinical study showing increased risk of heart attack and stroke after 18 months' use. This revelation followed other evidence that had undermined Merck's justification for charging premium prices for Vioxx, compared to similar prescription pain-killer drugs.
Besides seeking reimbursement for their expenditures to make the arthritis and painkiller drug available to their health plan members, the third-party payors would be entitled to triple damages if ultimately successful on their claims, under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act.
Seeger Weiss, which has served as Lead Counsel in the action since 2003, is a national leader in Vioxx-related litigation against Merck. In addition to the third-party payor litigation, the firm was appointed to serve as Co-Chair of the coordinated federal multidistrict litigation proceedings pending before the Honorable Eldon Fallon in New Orleans, and performs a similar role in the state coordinated proceedings in New Jersey before Judge Higbee. The decision today ratifies Seeger Weiss' representation of all non-governmental third-party payors across the country in the New Jersey proceeding.
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