NEW ORLEANS - The Vioxx multidistrict litigation judge on June 5 said he would order a new damage phase trial in one of the bellwether cases unless the plaintiff agrees to take $1.6 million instead of the $51 million the jury awarded last year (In Re: Vioxx Products Liability Litigation, MDL Docket No. 1657, No. 056-md-1657; Gerald D. Barnett v. Merck & Co. Inc., No. 06-485, E.D. La.).
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No Coverage For Settlement Because No Exhaustion Of Primary Policy, Excess Carrier Says

Case: Great American Insurance Co., et al. v. Assurance Company of America, et al., No. 58173-2-I, Wash. App. Div. 1
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No Bad Faith, No Attorneys Fees, Panel Finds, Reverses $126,153 Award To Insured

HARTFORD, Conn. - The Connecticut Supreme Court on May 29 declined to adopt the common-law exception to the American rule that allows an award of attorney fees to an insured that has prevailed against its insurer in a declaratory judgment action, despite the absence of bad faith by the insurer. The panel reversed a trial court's grant of $126,153.50 in attorney fees to the insured (ACMAT Corp. v. Greater New York Mutual Ins. Co., No. SC 17740, Conn. Sup.; 2007 Conn. LEXIS 209).
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Maryland Court Finds Frye-Reed Test Should Have Been Applied To Expert Testimony

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - A Maryland appeals court on May 23 found that the Frye-Reed test should have been applied to plaintiff expert testimony on mold-related illnesses and ordered that the case be remanded for an evidentiary hearing to determine whether the expert's methods and theories are generally accepted in the scientific community (Montgomery Mutual Insurance Company v. Josephine Chesson, et al., No. 110, September Term, 2006, Md. App.).
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