March 3, 2008

Merck just sent out a press release stating that 93% of the 47,000 registered plaintiffs have enrolled in the settlement. It is unclear (a) what happened to the 13,000 plaintiffs who sued or signed tolling agreements, but did not register, and (b) whether all four of the 85% thresholds for various subgroups of plaintiffs were met, though Merck expresses confidence that they will be. It is also unclear how many of those 93% enrolled involve attorneys who have adhered to the all-or-none provisions of the settlement, or whether there have been attempts at evading that requirement that may knock some people out of the settlement. There would still be at least 3000 claims pending against Merck, though Merck has indicated that it will permit late filers to join the settlement if they had claims pending November 9.

Enrolled plaintiffs have until March 31 to submit evidence (medical, prescription, and payroll records) documenting their claims.