UPDATED 04.29.10 @ 4 PM EDT: It is either (i) or (ii), below -- the trial continues today: Filed & Entered: 04/29/2010 Jury Trial - Held. . . .
So if the trial continued today, Judge Keenan has very-likely deferred decision on Merck's Rule 50(a) motion.
How do I know that, in the absence of press reports? Well, because Merck's counsel just filed a Rule 50(a) motion to decide the case without having to put on a defense. Such a motion, if made at all, is properly made at the close of the plaintiff's case in chief. That point must have come today. From here, three things can happen: Judge Keenan may (i) decide to delay a decision on Merck's motion, and listen to some or all of Merck's defense case (and decide the motion later); (ii) promptly deny Merck's motion, and let the case continue; or (iii) grant Merck's motion, and effectively end the trial in a loss for Louise Maley, tonight.
I'd put the order of probabilty of occurence in the same order as I laid out the options: (i), (ii) and finally (iii). Here is some text from the memo of law supporting the motion:
Filed: April 28, 2010. . . .
. . . .Defendant Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. (“Merck”) files this memorandum in support of its Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50(a). . . .
Will Judge Keenan allow the case to reach the jury? Time will tell, but I strongly suspect he will (more background on it). Stay-tuned.
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