Share
[Fallon] heaped praise on the plaintiffs lawyers who led the Vioxx litigation, noting that in 31 months the parties were able to reach a global settlement and provide benefits to 32,886 claimants, out of a pool of 49,893 eligible and enrolled claimants. “[That] efficiency is unprecedented in mass tort settlements of this size,” Fallon wrote. “Counsel met and exceeded this court’s desire for expedited resolution of this matter.”
The judge enumerated accomplishments of the lead plaintiffs lawyers: “Following the formal appointment of the PLC and the [Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee], the attorneys committed to intensive discovery and pretrial efforts. The PSC operated on many fronts, preparing pleadings and master class action complaints, taking over 2,000 depositions, reviewing and compiling over 50,000,000 documents, briefing and arguing over 1,000 discovery motions, assembling a trial package, conducting bellwether trials, negotiating the global settlement agreement, and implementing the payout under the agreement. The time and labor expended in this effort is impressive.”