A settlement calling for Merck & Co. to pay $830 million to investors in multidistrict litigation over the painkiller Vioxx and another $232 million in legal fees received preliminary approval Feb. 11 from a federal judge in Newark.

The settlement would end more than a decade of litigation concerning the company’s statements to shareholders about Vioxx, which was taken off the market over evidence that long-term users were at increased risk of a heart attack or stroke.