The settlement of the class action lawsuit against DuPont for making the chemical C8 may be a sign of things to come as two other communities across the country have proceeded with lawsuits of their own.

The possibility that Vioxx may once again be offered to patients raises a provocative question: Did Merck & Co. err by pulling its $2.5 billion painkiller off the market?

If Merck puts painkiller Vioxx back on the market after removing it because of safety concerns, it would be an unusual but not unprecedented event.

Over the years, class action lawsuits have netted consumers $13 rebates on computer monitors, coupons for free movie rentals, $30 discounts on cruise vacations, and free boxes of cereal. But the lawyers who spearheaded those cases were the real winners, typically walking away with millions of dollars in fees.

Tommy Tuberville was a struggling Arkansas restaurateur 20 years ago, frying fish and mixing “pond water” at Tubby’s Catfish Inn.

It was announced that cases involving claims arising out of the use of Vioxx will be transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana in New Orleans.

The Vioxx litigation has attracted big names from the mass tort bar. And, though he's not among plaintiffs counsel, per se, the lineup now includes Mr. Civil Action. That, of course, is Jan Schlichtmann.

Whether Merck & Co. wins a slew of federal lawsuits or Vioxx patients who died or suffered injuries are compensated may come down to which judge hears the case and in what state.

A gathering storm of litigation over the withdrawn drug Vioxx passed through this city last week and could be unleashed as soon as this spring.

Most of the 250 lawyers listened intently as fellow attorney Barry Hill showed off an extensive collection of trinkets and product samples emblazoned with the logo of the now-withdrawn drug Vioxx.