In September of 2004, when Merck voluntarily removed their prescription pain medication, Vioxx, from the market, Product Liability Law once again moved into the realm of everyday news.

Madison County Circuit Judge Daniel Stack may never get to decide whether Frank Schwaller will receive a new trial over his wife's death.

On Nov. 9, Merck & Co., after long insisting it would never settle the 27,000 Vioxx cases filed against it, turned an about face and agreed to a global settlement in which it will pay $4.85 billion to resolve the bulk of these cases.

A Montgomery law firm took the charge against pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co., winning a $4.85 billion settlement for thousands nationwide who took the arthritis painkiller Vioxx.

Merck vowed to fight til the death. They vowed to litigate each Vioxx case to conclusion. Apparently, that vow only applied until the statute of limitations ran on most of the cases.

The Vioxx litigation against Merck began in 2001, but exploded after the company took the prescription painkiller off the market in 2004. Since then, Merck has been hit with about 26,600 suits, according to company documents.

It's a sign of the times that a company can express relief after agreeing to settle a massive set of lawsuits for $4.85 billion.

Merck & Co.'s agreement to pay $4.85 billion to resolve lawsuits over its Vioxx painkiller offers certainty of a payday to thousands of plaintiffs who no longer must prove the drug caused their heart attacks or strokes.

It was 6:30 a.m. in New Orleans, and Russ Herman had worked up an appetite. "I met my son for breakfast," Herman said. "We had eggs over light, two biscuits, ham, and several cups of coffee. And we had a lot to talk about."

After more than five years of hard-fought and difficult litigation, Merck has agreed to pay $4.85 billion, the largest pharmaceutical settlement in history, to resolve certain Vioxx-related claims involving plaintiffs who suffered a heart attack (including sudden cardiac death) or a stroke.