Day on Torts

The judge declared a mistrial in the Vioxx case this morning. The jury was unable to reach a verdict.

The jury comes back Monday for a fourth day of deliberations in the first federal MDL Vioxx trial. The jury was given a dynamite or Allen charge on Saturday. Read more here.

The Vioxx jury is working on Saturday. Read about it here. For reaction of some lawyers to the latest news concerning the NEJM story, go here.

Yesterday afternoon the Tennessee Supreme Court said the the 3-year statute of repose found in the “Doctor and Hospital Relief Act of 1975” should be applied to claims made by minors. Before yesterday, most lawyers assumed that minors had the right to wait until their 19th birthday to file suit.…

Honda and its expert, Robert Gratzinger, got caught “wrongfully and intentionally alter[ing] the most significant physical evidence in [a products liability case.” The judge sanctioned them, but then sealed the order as part of a settlement of the case. Trial Lawyers for Public Justice found to open the record to…

Read this opinion starting at Page 17 to get a court’s insight on how not to present an appeal. An example: “Further, most of plaintiffs’ claims are patently disingenuous. Arguments regarding use of the Streamlined Rules, failure to find the arbitration was binding, the selection of the arbitrator and his…

The United State Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case concerning an ERISA plan’s legal right to sue a plan participant for reimbursement. As John Wood explains, “This important issue typically arises when an ERISA health plan pays medical bills for an injured participant. If the participant recovers from…

The New England Journal of Medicine, hardly a tool of the plaintiff’s bar, has concerns that Merck not only played dodgeball but actually hid the ball. AP puts it this way: “Vioxx maker Merck & Co. concealed heart attacks suffered by three patients during a clinical study of the now-withdrawn…

Here is the latest news on the first federal MDL trial currently underway in Houston. The judge wants this case over quickly; the plaintiffs put on their case in less than five days and the defense has already called several witnesses. Here is a summary of a key witness for…

The Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled that an exculpatory clause in a form signed at a snowboarding and snowtubing facility did not bar the plaintiff’s claim. The Court rejected Plaintiff’s argument that the agreement was ambigious. The Court said “[w]e conclude that the agreement expressly and unambiguously purports to release…