EXCLUSIVE: Court Sets Final Cain v. Hassan Settlement Hearing -- February 28, 2012

The notices to all affected shareholders will be in the mail shortly; Merck will soon file an SEC Form 8-K (and post the notice on its external investor relations webpage). The deadline to file any objection in the New Jersey federal District courts is in the first week of February 2012 -- all according to an order signed by the very-able Judge Cavanaugh yesterday, and filed overnight in Newark.

So the shareholders' derivative suit is set to settle, in exchange for governance changes -- and $5.1 million in very well-earned plaintiffs' legal fees.

Still pending are several ENHANCE-era would-be federal class action securities suits, for monetary damages.