NJ Supreme Court decides Sinclair v. Merck

The New Jersey Supreme Court issued its decision in Sinclair v. Merck, a medical monitoring class action filed against Merck on behalf of Vioxx users who had not filed personal injury claims.   The opinion is available here.   The court rejected the plaintiff's claims.  This opinion joins a spate of recent decisions in Merck's favor.  Vioxx continues to be a vehicle for making new law and rethinking old ones.  Whether the New Jersey courts' tightening of medical monitoring claims is a good idea from a policy perspective will have to wait to another day. 

For a defense-side take on this opinion, see the Drug and Device Law Blog here.  Their analysis is useful.  Thanks to Mark Hermann for bringing this to my attention. 

ADL