SEATTLE, June 18, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Keller Rohrback L.L.P. (www.erisafraud.com), Co-Lead Counsel for the ERISA plaintiffs in the In re Merck & Co. Inc. Securities, Derivative, & ERISA Litigation, MDL No. 1658, pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, announces that the Court recently ruled that proposed supplemental claims related to Vytorin against Merck & Co. Inc. ("Merck" or the "Company") (NYSE:MRK) for potential violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA") should be pursued separately from those being pursued in this action. Separate lawsuits are on file that lodge claims based upon Merck's conduct in relation to Vytorin and allege that Merck breached its ERISA-mandated fiduciary duties in relation to the investments in the Merck Common Stock Fund within the Merck & Co., Inc. Employee Savings & Security Plan, the Merck & Co., Inc. Employee Stock Purchase & Savings Plan, or the Merck Puerto Rico Employee Savings & Security Plan (collectively, the "Plans"). If you are or were a participant in the Merck & Co., Inc. Employee Savings & Security Plan, the Merck & Co., Inc. Employee Stock Purchase & Savings Plan, or the Merck Puerto Rico Employee Savings & Security Plan during the April 1, 2006 through March 31, 2008 time frame, and were invested in the Merck Common Stock Fund, and would like further information about the ERISA claims lodged against Merck in relation Vytorin, please contact paralegal Mark Gangl or attorney Amy Hanson toll free at (800) 776-6044, or via e-mail at investor@kellerrohrback.com.
Merck may have failed to disclose known material information about the efficacy of Vytorin to the Plans' participants at the time that it was publicly touting Vytorin as a superior cholesterol treatment. When the results of Merck's clinical trial of Vytorin were made public earlier this year, the Plans and the Plans' participants and beneficiaries suffered massive losses as Merck's stock price and the value of the Merck Common Stock Fund in the Plans decreased substantially. Merck may have breached its fiduciary duties to prudently and loyally invest and maintain the assets of the Plans, as well as its fiduciary duty to provide adequate information to the participants of those Plans, by its actions and omissions (including but not limited to its conduct in relation to Vytorin) that materially affected the Plans' holdings of Merck stock.
Keller Rohrback L.L.P. is one of America's leading law firms handling ERISA retirement plan litigation. We are committed to helping employees and retirees protect their retirement savings. Keller Rohrback L.L.P. serves as lead and co-lead counsel in numerous ERISA class action cases, including cases against Merck, Enron, WorldCom, Inc., and Merrill Lynch. Its trial lawyers have obtained judgments and settlements on behalf of clients in excess of seven billion dollars.
Attorney Advertising. Prior Results Do Not Guarantee A Similar Outcome.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primenewswire.com/ca.