Lawyers for Merck & Co. and plaintiffs have agreed to postpone what is slated to be the second wrongful death trial over Vioxx. <>The trial now is scheduled to begin May 31 in Angleton, Texas.
Ted Mayer, one of Merck's lawyers, said the agreement should be presented to the judge either later this week or early next week.
Plaintiff's counsel said the parties agreed to delay the trial because Fallon had indicated he wanted time to learn about the Vioxx issues before state cases proceeded.
In the Alabama case, Judge Rochester, said he wanted to talk to Fallon and other state judges before delaying the case now pending. Rochester said there was little point in delaying the case if other trials are held as scheduled, and that he would decide whether to postpone the case by the end of the week. The Texas case is the only other trial with a definitive start date.
In the Texas case, Carol Ernst is alleging that Vioxx caused the 2001 death of her 59-year old husband, Robert. In that case, the cause of death was cardiac arrythmia.