Class-action against Merck OK’d

Merck & Co. suffered a significant legal setback Friday when an appeals court ruled a nationwide class-action lawsuit can go forward that allows health insurers and others to sue to recover the billions of dollars they spent on Vioxx.

Merck attorney Ted Mayer called the ruling “deeply flawed” and said the company would appeal the unanimous decision by the three New Jersey Appellate Division judges to the state Supreme Court.

If the case does go forward, Merck faces substantial financial risk because under New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act the company would have to pay triple damages to the plans. The plaintiffs allege Merck deliberately misrepresented Vioxx’s safety as it concealed the pain reliever’s health risks, which violates the Fraud Act.

•U.S. and European regulatory approval is the final hurdle for Boston Scientific Corp.’s $27 billion acquisition of Guidant Corp. after shareholders on Friday approved the merger of the medical device makers.

Boston Scientific, which trumped Johnson & Johnson two months ago in a bidding war for Indianapolis-based Guidant, said it expects to close the deal around the middle of April.

Combined, the companies will manufacture stents, defibrillators, pacemakers and an array of other medical devices.

•Whirlpool Corp. completed its acquisition of Maytag Corp. on Friday and said it will immediately begin integrating the two appliance companies.

Maytag stockholders will get about $848 million in cash and about 9.6 million shares of Whirlpool common stock, under the previously signed agreement, which was approved by Maytag shareholders in December.

The agreement paid Maytag shareholders $10.50 in cash and 0.1193 of a share in Whirlpool stock for each share of Maytag stock held.

•A federal judge on Friday approved a settlement requiring union retirees of General Motors Corp. to pay more for their health care.

U.S. District Judge Robert Cleland dismissed the objections of a group of retirees who said the settlement worked out by GM and the United Auto Workers violated their contracts.