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.

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A gathering storm of litigation over the withdrawn drug Vioxx passed through this city last week and could be unleashed as soon as this spring.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Barry Hill showed off an extensive collection of trinkets and product samples emblazoned with the logo of the now-withdrawn drug Vioxx.

The fourth Vioxx lawsuit against Merck & Co. will be held in a rural Texas court and a retrial of the federal case that ended in a hung jury will be held in February in New Orleans.

During the past five months, Merck researcher Alise Reicin has stood toe-to-toe with some of the nation's best trial lawyers.

Andy Birchfield, got a jump start on the Vioxx litigation, he began filing cases in 2001, three years before Merck & Co., Inc., pulled its prescription painkiller from the shelf.

Pfizer Inc.s decision to stand behind Celebrex rather than withdraw its painkiller, as rival Merck & Co. did with Vioxx, puts the company on a risky legal path.