SPOTLIGHT: Vioxx cases shift to Houston in Katrina's wake

Houston
The federal judge in charge of coordinating hundreds of federal cases involving Vioxx has shifted his office from New Orleans to Houston and hopes to keep on schedule with the mountainous caseload. US District Court Judge Eldon E. Fallon and some staffers have moved into temporary quarters in Houston and are trying to relocate other staffers uprooted by Hurricane Katrina. In a separate move, Merck is asking the judge to refuse Court TV's request to cover an upcoming Vioxx trial, saying it will hurt their chances in future trials. Story