Bader NEW ORLEANS - A federal appeals court decided Tuesday that 1998's Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement is constitutional, ruling against a challenge by the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
Fifth Appellate Court justices have reversed St. Clair County Circuit Court Judge Robert LeChien in an eight-year-old DirecTV class action case that has been appealed twice since the late fee dispute was filed in 2000.
Judge Dan Stack When lawyers present opening arguments in Madison County's first Vioxx trial next week jurors will for the first time get a feel for what is expected to be a spellbinding five-week trial.
Madison County Circuit Judge Daniel J. Stack Plaintiff's attorney John Driscoll of Brown & Crouppen will try to convince a jury that Vioxx caused or significantly contributed to the death of Frank Schwaller's wife in Madison County's first trial against Merck over the recalled arthritis pain reliever.
While litigators have had a field day in court with Merck's arthritis pain-relieving drug Vioxx, a majority of prescribing physicians surveyed recently believe the benefits derived from the drug outweigh the risks.
SHREVEPORT, La. – When attorney generals of 46 states signed a settlement of claims against tobacco companies they violated a section of the U.S. Constitution forbidding compacts between states, according to a lawsuit in federal court in Shreveport.
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) on Tuesday filed a constitutional challenge to the 1998 tobacco settlement in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana on behalf of a distributor, two small tobacco manufacturers, a tobacco store and an individual smoker.