Judge Calls for New Trial in Vioxx Case

Article in today's New York Times -- Judge Calls for New Trial in Vioxx Case, by the Associated Press:

    The $50 million compensatory damage award in a federal Vioxx case this month was ''grossly       
    excessive,'' and a new trial must be held to decide damages for a retired FBI agent who suffered a
    heart attack after taking the painkiller, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

    ''No reasonable jury could have found'' that Gerald Barnett was entitled to $50 million in            
    compensatory damages from Vioxx maker Merck & Co. because of the heart attack he suffered in
    2002, U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon ruled.

    The new trial is limited to the question of damages.