Andy Childers is one of the nation's leading, young, articulate litigators. If you don't know him, you should. His firm's website can be found here.
I asked Andy to give his opinion on the effects of the recent Vioxx verdict in Louisiana and the decision in the Humeston case in New Jersey. He wrote:
Although both results were very important, I believe the New Jersey Order was even more significant than the New Orleans verdict.
Judge Higbee's Order shows Merck's continuing pattern of deception and lies, not just in the labeling and marketing of Vioxx, but all the way through the trial of the Humeston case. Merck has continued, in my opinion, to lie about what it knew about the dangers of Vioxx and when it knew of such dangers.
What is notable is that on August 17th Judge Higbee also ordered Merck's general counsel, Joanne Lahner (who is in charge of the Vioxx litigation), to appear before her within 20 days for a hearing concerning her role as it relates to Vioxx.
The further we dig into the Vioxx debacle, the more Merck's true colors
come out.
