The odds are against Merck in the second Vioxx trial

“Very little favors Merck this time around and the downside risks are far greater than they were in Texas. Another loss would make it virtually impossible for Merck to “scare” any plaintiff into a small settlement and it would be boost the confidence of every plaintiff’s attorney immeasurably.

Merck cannot force the New Jersey cases into the friendlier confines of federal court because suing the company in its home state prevented Merck from doing just that. In addition, Atlantic County jurors are quite likely to resemble the Angleton, Texas jurors in a number of ways. They will be ethnically diverse and from a low- to middle-income households.

They, too, may not care very much about all of the complicated scientific and medical proof when it is weighed against the mountain of evidence that points to a willful pattern of deception (at worst) or denial (at best) concerning Merck’s handling of the scientific data concerning the heart-related dangers associated with Vioxx.”