Plaintiffs' Class Counsel Announce Pendency of Class Action in the Merck (Vioxx) Securities Litigation

NEW YORK, Sept. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The following statement is being issued by Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP; Milberg LLP; Brower Piven, A Professional Corporation; and Stull, Stull & Brody.

United States District Court
District Of New Jersey

IN RE MERCK & CO., INC. SECURITIES, DERIVATIVE & "ERISA" LITIGATION
MDL No. 1658 (SRC)
Case No. 2:05-CV-01151 (SRC) (CLW)

THIS DOCUMENT RELATES TO: THE CONSOLIDATED SECURITIES ACTION
Case No. 2:05-CV-02367 (SRC) (CLW)

SUMMARY NOTICE OF PENDENCY OF CLASS ACTION

To: All persons and entities who, from May 21, 1999 to September 29, 2004, inclusive, purchased or otherwise acquired Merck & Co., Inc. ("Merck") common stock or call options, or sold Merck put options (the "Class").

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED, pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and an Order of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, that the above-captioned action (the "Action") has been certified as a class action.

IF YOU ARE A MEMBER OF THE CLASS, YOUR RIGHTS WILL BE AFFECTED BY THIS ACTION.  A full printed Notice of Pendency of Class Action is currently being mailed to known potential Class members.  If you have not yet received the full printed Notice, you may obtain copies of this document by downloading it from www.MerckVioxxSecuritiesLitigation.com or by contacting the Notice Administrator:

In re Merck & Co., Inc. Securities, Derivative & "ERISA" Litigation
c/o The Garden City Group, Inc.
P.O. Box 10014
Dublin, OH 43017-6614

If you did not receive the Notice by mail, and you are and decide to remain a member of the Class, please send your name and address to the Notice Administrator so that if any further notices are disseminated in connection with the Action, you will receive them.

Inquiries other than requests for the Notice, may be made to Plaintiffs' Class Counsel:

Salvatore J. Graziano
David Wales
BERNSTEIN LITOWITZ BERGER & GROSSMANN LLP
1285 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10019
(800) 380-8496

Jules Brody
Mark Levine
STULL, STULL & BRODY
6 East 45th Street, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10017
(800) 337-4983

David A.P. Brower
BROWER PIVEN
A Professional Corporation
475 Park Avenue South, 33rd Floor
New York, NY 10016
(212) 501-9000

Matthew A. Kupillas
MILBERG LLP
One Penn Plaza
New York, NY 10119-0165
(877) 692-1965

If you are a Class member, you have the right to decide whether to remain a member of the Class.  If you choose to remain a member of the Class, you do not need to do anything at this time other than to retain your documentation reflecting your transactions and holdings in Merck common stock and options during the period from May 21, 1999 through and including September 29, 2004.  You will automatically be included in the Class.  If you are a Class member and do not exclude yourself from the Class, you will be bound by the proceedings in this Action, including all past, present and future orders and judgments of the Court, whether favorable or unfavorable.   

If you ask to be excluded from the Class, you will not be bound by any order or judgment in this Action, and you will not be eligible to receive a share of any money which might be recovered for the benefit of the Class.  To exclude yourself from the Class, you must submit a written request for exclusion postmarked no later than November 3, 2013 in accordance with the instructions set forth in the full printed Notice.  Please note, if you decide to exclude yourself from the Class, you may be time-barred from asserting the claims covered in the Action by a statute of repose.  Pursuant to Rule 23(e)(4) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, it is within the Court's discretion as to whether a second opportunity to request exclusion from the Class will be allowed if there is a settlement or judgment in the Action.  This Action has not yet been scheduled for trial, and there is no judgment, settlement or monetary recovery at this time.

Further information may be obtained by directing your inquiry in writing to the Notice Administrator.

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT REGARDING THIS NOTICE.

BY ORDER OF THE COURT
United States District Court
for the District of New Jersey

SOURCE Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP; Brower Piven, A Professional Corporation; Milberg LLP; Stull, Stull & Brody