Medical Monitoring Class Action Remanded to Madison Cty., Ill.

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. - A Vioxx medical monitoring class action removed recently to federal court has been remanded to state court after a federal judge agreed that the relief sought by the putative class would not exceed $75,000. Caruso v. Merck and Company, Inc., No. 04-759 (S.D. Ill.).

Judge G. Patrick Murphy of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois ordered Dec. 21 that the case be remanded to the Madison County Circuit Court, where last October plaintiffs filed their complaint seeking damages sufficient to cover the cost of periodic medical exams. The putative statewide class …