The nation's third Vioxx trial and the first in a federal courtroom gets under way in Houston this week, and a verdict would break a current tie in one of the most high-profile consumer legal battles in the past decade.

Vioxx trials, said that Merck should be "excited" about fighting the next battle in federal district court. "Oftentimes state court judges are not listening to them."

The first federal trial over Merck & Co.'s Vioxx painkiller is scheduled to begin next week, but it could take several more trials before the drug maker decides whether to begin settling cases or stand by its vow to fight thousands of lawsuits over many years.

Since Jere Beasley broke his arm about a month ago, he's had trouble completing some of the more routine tasks in his Montgomery law office.

Merck & Co.'s next trial over its Vioxx painkiller will test the company's argument that short- term use of the drug doesn't cause heart attacks.

Whether the once-popular painkiller Vioxx can be lethal if taken for just a few weeks will be the crux of the first federal trial concerning the drug's safety.

The Alabama lawyer due to argue the nation's next Vioxx-related case before a federal judge lashed out at drugmaker Merck & Co. for trying to have the case thrown out.

With Merck & Co. now 1-and-1 in state lawsuits over its Vioxx painkiller, the nation's No. 5 drug maker may face higher stakes.

Merck's victory in the nation's second Vioxx trial may lighten the company's litigation load as plaintiff lawyers shun weaker cases, but the legal saga over the withdrawn painkiller is far from over.

Merck can't savor victory in the second trial over its Vioxx painkiller for long, say analysts and lawyers tracking the 6,400 other lawsuits the company faces for injuries or deaths linked to the drug.