Fosamax Jury Update

CNN reports this morning that Judge Keenan has "called for a daylong 'cooling off' period" in the Fosamax (an osteoporosis drug) litigation.  Apparently jury deliberations became quite tense; the jurors have been deliberating for the last week over Shirley Boles's case.  Boles is a 71-year old retired deputy sheriff that lives in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida.  She claims that Fosamax caused her jawbone tissue to die.  By itself, the case is relatively small.  But, because Schering-Plough is looking to merge with Merck, all eyes are on the jury to see how vulnerable Merck is financially.  According to the New York Times, there are roughly 900 state and federal Fosamax cases with around 1,280 plaintiffs.

One of the jurors in Boles's case claimed that she was being both intimidated and threatened.  Judge Keenan has given the jury until 11:15 a.m. on Friday (tomorrow) to reach a decision before declaring a mistrial.

ECB