Tonight, sources down under are reporting that the first trial court finding liability on the part of Merck's Australian subsidiary. . . has been overturned. [My earlier background on the case is here; full-text of trial level opinion here.] In any event, regular readers will remember that some 1,500 claims (per my earlier graphic, at right) are still pending related to Vioxx®, and CV events -- in the Australian legal system.
From some Bloomberg reports of tonight, then -- a bit:
. . . .The judgment against Merck should be set aside and the action should be dismissed, Justice Michelle Gordon said on behalf of the appeal panel in Federal Court in Melbourne today. The decision reverses a March 5, 2010, ruling that awarded Graeme Robert Peterson A$287,912 ($286,000), after he found Vioxx contributed to Peterson’s heart attack in 2003. . . .
We will, of course, keep you posted -- but I believe the Petersons (Australian plaintiffs) have at least one additional level of appeal. There's been no word on whether such an appeal will be filed, as yet.
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