A Review of Snigda Prakash’s All the Justice Money Can Buy, a Book on the Vioxx Tort Litigation | Rodger Citron | Verdict | Legal Analysis and Commentary from Justia

Former NPR reporter Snigdha Prakash, former NPR reporter, was embedded with the plaintiff's lawyer Mark Lanier for one of the Vioxx trials. I worked for Lanier on the appeal of another Vioxx case McDarby v. Merck, 949 A. 2d 223 (NJ App. Div. 2008).      I read the complete trial record of that case - the McDarby and Cona trials which were before the same judge.  I find her account rings quite true. And Citron's review presents it fairly. - GWC

A Review of Snigda Prakash’s All the Justice Money Can Buy, a Book on the Vioxx Tort Litigation | Rodger Citron | Verdict | Legal Analysis and Commentary from Justia:

by Prof. Rodger Citron

Snigda Prakash, All the Justice Money Can Buy (Kaplan Publishing 2011)

©iStockphoto.com/HPuschmann

Snigda Prakash, a former National Public Radio reporter, has written an interesting book about the litigation against Merck & Co., the manufacturer of Vioxx, a prescription drug used to relieve pain and inflammation. Merck withdrew its heavily-promoted drug from the market in 2004 due to concerns that consumers of Vioxx faced an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes; a deluge of tort lawsuits followed.

In All the Justice Money Can Buy, Prakash traces the history of the litigation, beginning with efforts by plaintiffs’ lawyers to sue the company even before Vioxx had been withdrawn from the market and concluding with the nearly $5 billion settlement agreement announced in late 2007 that covered the claims of most of the plaintiffs.

Much of Prakash’s book provides a detailed account of a trial in New Jersey in early 2007. One of the plaintiff’s lawyers, Mark Lanier, allowed Prakash to go behind the scenes to see how he prepared and presented his case. Wisely, Prakash accepted the opportunity to observe Lanier, a superb trial attorney from Texas, at work.

As discussed below, Prakash took full advantage of the access provided by Lanier and has provided a vivid and thorough reconstruction of a lengthy civil trial involving complicated issues. All the Justice Money Can Buy will be especially interesting to civil litigators who actually try cases instead of resolving them through settlement or pretrial motions.

'via Blog this'