Sebok's Part II on NJ Supreme Court's Vioxx Ruling

Tony Sebok's latest Findlaw column continues his analysis of the New Jersey Supreme Court's decertification of the Vioxx class action brought on behalf of unions and health plans against Merck. In this latest column, Sebok addresses the court's finding that the plaintiffs failed the "superiority" standard for class certification.  That is, the court concluded that plaintiffs failed to show that the class action was a superior method for resolving the claims because the high-dollar value of their claims made individual suits feasible.  Sebok, however, challenges the court's underlying view of the class action as a resolution mechanism for low-value torts, and instead, "see[s] class actions . . . as capable of solving complex problems of settlement and compensation involving large, high-stakes claims."

- SBS