COLCHESTER, Conn., Dec. 18, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Scott + Scott, LLC has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of participants and beneficiaries of the Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) Stock Investment Plan. The lawsuit has been filed to recover losses that current and former Marsh employees have suffered in their retirement accounts. Marsh plans to slash 3,000 jobs at the company, or 5% of its work force. The job cuts are due in large part to Marsh's involvement in a bid-rigging scandal with insurance companies. The lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. If you wish to discuss your rights, please call 800-404-7770 (EST) or 800-332-2259 (PST) or email (MarshERISALitigation@scott-scott.com or nrothstein@scott-scott.com). The firm continues to investigate on an ongoing basis. As part of a group, any employee can do this on a confidential basis and participate in the litigation at their own discretion. It is unlawful for Marsh & McLennan to take any retaliatory action against any employee who chooses to participate in the suit. Individual clients have already expressed interest in leading this litigation.
Eliot Spitzer, the New York Attorney General, sued Marsh & McLennan on Oct. 14 for allegedly rigging bids and accepting improper commissions in return for steering business to favored insurers. People familiar with the Attorney General's ongoing investigation told the Wall Street Journal earlier today that it was doubtful that the lawsuit would settle by the end of the year. These statements conflict with those that were made by Marsh's new CEO, who suggested earlier this month that the probe was near an end. In the aftermath of the lawsuit, Marsh's longtime CEO, Jeffrey Greenberg, resigned, as the company promised to over-haul its business practices.
Five senior executives have also left the Company and its Board of Directors. Thus far, Marsh has set aside $232 million for legal costs associated with the bid-rigging scandal. Several industry analysts have predicted that Marsh may struggle to retain clients going forward. Once industry experts predicted that the company's former clients may begin to file lawsuits against the company to recover damages they have suffered on account of Marsh's alleged bid-rigging and other anticompetitive behavior.
WHILE FIRM ALSO REPRESENTS PLAN PARTICIPANTS OF MERCK (NYSE:MRK), PFIZER (NYSE:PFE) SHAREHOLDERS AND PLAN PARTICIPANTS CONTACT WITH CONCERN AS WELL
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) announced that it found an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes for patients taking high dosages of its top-selling arthritis painkiller Celebrex, the same problem that led to the withdrawal of its one-time competitor Vioxx. The company said it has no plans to remove Celebrex from the market, but the disclosure on Friday caused Pfizer's shares to crash because of shareholder fear that sales of what had been the most-prescribed drug for treating arthritis could damage the company's value. Pfizer Inc. said it found an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes for patients taking high dosages of its top-selling arthritis painkiller Celebrex, the same problem that led to the withdrawal of its one-time competitor Vioxx. Both Celebrex and Vioxx are a type of drug called cox-2 inhibitors. Vioxx was pulled from the market in September because it doubled patients' risk of heart attack and strokes. In a study on Celebrex, the 2,000 patient study indicated that 15 individuals taking 400 mgs, 20 patients taking 800 mgs and 6 patients on placebo suffered either a cardiac-related death, heart attack or stroke. The study was intended to show whether Celebrex could prevent precancerous growths called polyps in patients that had already had at least one such growth.
A separate cancer study done by Pfizer found no increased heart risk with patients taking 400mg of Celebrex per day. Those safety claims have caused members of congress to request records as they want to know what information Pfizer had about another study when it made the safety statements.
For the first nine months of the year, worldwide sales of Celebrex more than doubled from a year earlier to $2.3 billion, accounting for 6 percent of Pfizer's total sales of $37.6 billion during that period. The withdrawal of Vioxx has been a financial and public relations disaster for Merck. Its shares have dropped by nearly one-third since the recall announcement in late September. Scott + Scott, LLC represents many employees of Merck in a class action seeking to protect their pension plan benefits.
In the Merck case, it is alleged that Vioxx had been Merck's No. 2 earner with annual global sales of $2.5 billion, amounting to 11 percent of the company's $22.49 billion in revenue last year. Earlier this month, the Food and Drug Administration said it was adding a warning to the labels of another Pfizer drug, Bextra, noting a risk of potential heart problems associated with the use of Bextra in people who have recently had heart bypass surgery. Bextra is also a cox-2 inhibitor type of drug.
For the first nine months of the year, worldwide sales of Celebrex more than doubled from a year earlier to $2.3 billion, accounting for 6 percent of Pfizer's total sales of $37.6 billion during that period. The withdrawal of Vioxx from the market has had a serious impact on employee benefits value. Similarly, with the amount of shares held by Pfizer employees in their plans, those employees have now also expressed concern.
A LAW FIRM DEDICATED TO EMPLOYEE AND SHAREHOLDER RIGHTS
Scott + Scott, LLC, which prides itself on its dedication to the class and its tenacity for the interest of the class, recently won an important decision in the Halliburton Securities Litigation (NYSE:HAL) case on behalf of its Lead Plaintiff halting a settlement that was deemed inadequate by the Court and completed secretly behind its lead plaintiff's back (a non-profit charitable organization). Scott + Scott. LLC fought this battle to successfully have final approval denied. This unusual victory (described in the articles below) took over a year and a half: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13102-2004Sep10.html or http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2004/09/12/2003202628 . Additionally, Scott + Scott recently defeated the primary portion of defendants' motion to dismiss in the Priceline.Com Securities Litigation, pending in Connecticut federal court. The firm is also working as counsel in Connecticut on United Rentals (NYSE:URI), Star Gas LC (NYSE:SGU) and (NYSE:SGH) and the Hartford Financial Services Group in the same jurisdiction. Pfizer Global Research and Development has its new world headquarters in New London, Connecticut and a major research campus in Groton, Connecticut. Attorney Neil Rothstein, a partner specializing in securities litigation, can be reached directly at 619/251-0887 to answer any questions.
Scott + Scott, LLC, a Connecticut law firm with offices in Ohio and California, is a law firm with a national practice and reputation. It is currently representing the employees of Royal Dutch/Shell as a lead counsel in another benefits case and has been appointed lead counsel in numerous class action cases. Scott + Scott dedicates itself to client communication and satisfaction. The firm is currently litigating major securities, antitrust and employee retirement plan cases throughout the United States and represents pension funds, charities, foundations, individuals and other entities worldwide -- in both class and non-class cases. Please visit our website at http://www.scott-scott.com to learn more about the firm, its practice and other cases. If you wish to discuss this action with an attorney or have any questions concerning this notice, your rights or any matter within our expertise, please contact attorney Neil Rothstein at nrothstein@scott-scott.com or at MarshERISAlitigation@scott-scott.com . You can also call 800/404-7770 (EST) or 800/332-2259 (PST). You can dial direct in California at 1/619-233-4565. Scott + Scott, LLC is located at 108 Norwich Avenue, Colchester, CT 06415; phone: 860/537-3818; fax: 860/537-4432. This release is issued in accordance with the applicable federal law of the United States.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca