Possible mistrial in Vioxx case

The second day of trial in the Humeston versus Merck has not gone well so far. There were sharp differences between Chris Seeger and the Merck legal team during the pre-trial stage, but that is fairly common. But things got ugly rather quickly.

First, as we reported earlier, Judge Carol Higbee threatened to declare a mistrial since Merck attorney Diane Sullivan violated the agreement that was reached prior to the start of the trial. She was not supposed to criticize trial lawyers during her presentation which she did.

But that was not enough for the Merck legal team. In their desperate attempt to win this case, a dispute over a 2005 FDA memo sparked another verbal exchange that did not look very professional. Judge Higbee has refused to let this document be presented in court since she calles it "unscientific" and full of contradictions. At that point Sullivan jumped from her chair, and as horrified court attendees looked on, she shouted, "This is unfair, this is really unfair."

A mistrial is likely to benefit Merck since the company's strategy is to drag Vioxx litigation process so that more plaintiffs get discouraged and do not file more lawsuits.

Related article: Profile of jurors in the trial