Texas Juror Took Loans From Plaintiff in Vioxx Case

Article today on law.com — Texas Juror Took Loans From Plaintiff in Vioxx Case, by Lynn Brezosky:   

    Attorneys for Merck & Co. want to see bank and cell phonerecords that could
    show the extent of a juror’s financial relationshipwith a plaintiff who won a
    $32 million verdict against the drug companyin the death of a 71-year-old man
    who took Vioxx.

     Jose Manuel Rios, a $22,000-a-year school janitor who servedon the panel that
    found Merck liable for Leonel Garza’s fatal heartattack after taking the painkiller
    Vioxx, testified in a post-trialdeposition to borrowing up to $10,000 interest free
    from Garza’s widow,Felicia, the plaintiff in the lawsuit against Merck. He said the
    loansincluded $2,500 that was paid off just weeks before he was selected asa juror
    in the case.