Merck desperately seeks mistrial in Humeston case

While many experts believe that Chris Seeger, the attorney for plaintiff Mike Humeston, may not have done as good a job as Mark Lanier did, Merck apparently is afraid that it will lose this case as well. To save itself from the consequence of a second defeat in a row, the company's legal team has asked five times that Judge Carol Higbee declare a mistrial.

Judge Higbee has rejected all requests, saying, "There is absolutely no chance that these jurors do not know that Vioxx was taken off the market...There is no reason for a mistrial." The idea is that the jury should not be told that was Vioxx was recalled. In fact the drug was recalled around this time last year and the media coverage for the withdrawal has been so widespread that even those who had never heard of the drug, now know more than they need to konw.

Related article: German Vioxx victims file lawsuit against Merck in the US