Merck found liable for Vioxx user’s death
A state jury found Merck & Co. liable Friday for the death of a 71-year-old man who had a fatal heart attack within a month of taking its since-withdrawn painkiller Vioxx and ordered the company to pay $32 million. Merck said it would appeal.
The damage award will likely be reduced because of a state law capping punitive damages.
The jury of 10 men and two women deliberated for about seven hours over two days before returning the verdict in favor of the family of Leonel Garza, who had suffered from heart disease for more than 20 years and had taken Vioxx for less than a month.
The company was ordered to pay $7 million in non-economic compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages.
But the punitive damage amount is likely to be reduced since state law caps punitive damages at twice the amount of economic damages – lost pay – and up to $750,000 on top of non-economic damages, which are comprised of mental anguish and loss of companionship.
Because Garza was retired, the jury awarded no economic damages. That means the most Garza’s family could receive under state law is $7.75 million.
“Merck will appeal,” spokesman Kent Jarrell said.
Spokane
RiverBank founders report state charter
The founders of RiverBank say they’ve received a state charter for the new financial institution.
The bank has raised $15 million in capital, said Duane Brandenburg, RiverBank’s president and CEO, in a press release.
Co-founders of the bank are Steve Utt, chief credit officer, and Dean Ballamy, chief lending officer.
RiverBank’s main office will be located at 202 E. Spokane Falls Boulevard, and it plans a “mobile tech branch” at 34 Spokane Falls Boulevard that will offer drive-through service.
RiverBank bills itself as “high touch meets high tech,” and plans to offer clients technologies that allow them to deposit checks from their desktops and monitor accounts for check fraud.
New York
Linux distributors agree on standard
In a move to make the freely distributed Linux operating system a stronger alternative to Microsoft Corp.’s Windows, a group of major Linux distributors announced Friday they have united on a standard set of components for desktop versions of Linux.
The standard created by the Free Standards Group should make it easier for developers to write applications that will work on Linux versions from different distributors.
Linux has a firm foothold as an operating system for servers – it’s popular for hosting Web sites, for instance – but has only a small percentage of the desktop market.