Merck replaced Evan Chesler with Kannon Shanmugam of Williams & Connolly in its attempt to overturn a Third Circuit ruling that said shareholders filed their Vioxx-related securities fraud ruling before the statute of limitations ran out. But according to Tony Mauro, the W&C lawyer had a rough go at the high court. Meanwhile, the Roberts Court continues to take on thorny business issues, granting cert--over the SEC's objections--in the leading f-cubed case.

BlackRobe Capital may have been backed by plenty of high-profile legal talent, but it turns out that wasn't enough to keep the litigation funding firm afloat.

True, Wednesday's rulings weren't all bad: Judge Jed Rakoff kept alive claims against banks involved in 19 mortgage-backed securities offerings. But plaintiffs continued their run of futility in ARS litigation and in claims against the ratings agencies.

Right now the standard for "storm warnings" in securities class actions is about as precise as a ten-day weather forecast. But the high court will have a chance to clarify when the statute of limitations begins running when it decides if the Third Circuit gave shareholders too much time to heed warnings of Vioxx-related fraud.

The litigation equivalent of Halley's comet is about to streak into view in Manhattan federal district court. Yes, folks, when trial in the shareholder suit against Vivendi and two of its former executives begins this week before Judge Richard Holwell, it may be your once-in-a-lifetime chance to witness a so-called f-cubed securities class action trial, involving foreign investors who bought shares of foreign companies on foreign exchanges.

When Merck settled federal criminal claims relating to its Vioxx painkiller two years ago, it tried to maintain the attorney-client privilege on documents it turned over to the Justice Department. On Wednesday, a U.S. district court judge ruled that Merck shareholders could see those documents anyway, because a Third Circuit ruling bars the kind of deal that Merck made with the government.