Merck & Co Inc (NYSE:MRK) has reportedly secured a significant legal victory as the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of nearly 1,200 lawsuits concerning its Zostavax shingles vaccine.
The court ruled that U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle did not exceed his authority when he dismissed cases for failing to provide required clinical test results in response to a Lone Pine order.
Mass torts increasingly use these orders to demand initial evidence, such as medical records, to substantiate claims early on.
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Judge Bartle initiated the Lone Pine order in early 2022 following Merck's success in five bellwether cases, where plaintiffs failed to demonstrate through a PCR test that the vaccine, rather than prior exposure to the chickenpox virus, caused their shingles.
Reuters added that the order mandated all remaining plaintiffs to produce similar clinical evidence to support their claims.
Plaintiffs' attorneys argued that PCR tests were not standard practice for diagnosing shingles, leading to a lack of available test results.
Merck countered that the cases lacked merit without conclusive evidence linking the vaccine to shingles.
Despite opposition, Judge Bartle dismissed all cases, emphasizing the failure to provide adequate scientific backing for their claims.
The 3rd Circuit upheld Bartle's decision, stating that plaintiffs had sufficient opportunity to justify their claims without PCR tests but failed to present alternative methodologies or scientific studies.
The court affirmed Bartle's discretion to manage the multidistrict litigation efficiently, albeit with acknowledgment of limits to judicial discretion.
Price Action: MRK stock is down 2.18% at $123.14 at last check Thursday.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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