After a Cooling-Off Period for Jurors, Judge Declares Mistrial in Fosamax Case
A federal judge has declared a mistrial in a suit against the makers of Fosamax after jury deliberations turned contentious, resulting in shouting and a deadlock.
Paul Strain, a lawyer for Fosamax maker Merck & Co., told the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) that the jury appeared to be leaning in Merck’s favor by a 7-1 vote. The plaintiff, Shirley Boles, claims that deterioration of her jawbone was caused by nine years of taking Fosamax, a drug that combats osteoporosis.
Boles’ lawyer, Timothy O’Brien, had first asked for a mistrial last Wednesday. He told U.S. District Judge John Keenan of Manhattan he heard shouting from the jury room; the opposing lawyer mentioned one juror’s claim that someone threw a chair at her during deliberations. Keenan ordered a one-day cooling-off period.
Juror No. 5 talked about the difficult deliberations in a note to the judge, the New York Times reports. “Dear Judge Keenan,” the juror wrote, “I am being intimidated, threatened, screamed at as well as verbally insulted that I am stupid because I do not agree.”
The case was the first of about 900 pending Fosamax suits to go to trial. O’Brien told the Times that his firm represents about 400 Fosamax plaintiffs. “From the commonsense perspective, this trial really showed that it provoked juror passions,” O’Brien told the Times.
The American Lawyer and the Wall Street Journal Law Blog also covered the mistrial.
