The lawyers made the suggestion to U.S. District Judge John F. Keenan as they argued for the case to be certified as a class-action, in order to pursue claims by users who believe the drug caused osteonecrosis of the jaw, a condition in which portions of the jaw bone die, sometimes leaving the bone exposed.

Timothy M. O'Brien, a lawyer for plaintiffs, said hundreds of thousands of patients would benefit from a dental monitoring program that would include regular dental screenings, X-rays and lab tests, all aimed at preventing the need for dental surgery.

Paul Strain, a Merck attorney, called Fosamax a "life altering and life saving drug" that helps to prevent the kind of bone fractures that can hasten the deaths of people as they age. He said the drug was a pioneer 11 years ago.

Strain also said there was no proven link between degeneration of the jaw bone in some patients and Fosamax.

Damage to the jaw bone can result in many ways, including from using steroids, from diseases or weaknesses in the body and from poor dental hygiene.

O'Brien said as many as one in every 296 patients who use Fosamax develop the severe damage to the jaw, though Merck disputed the figure. O'Brien said jaws were more susceptible to damage because they are used so frequently and are under greater stress than most bones.

Keenan did not immediately rule after hearing arguments.

Vance Andrus, another lawyer for the plaintiffs, argued a class-action certification would allow for a trial where a jury could decide whether Fosamax is toxic and hazardous and whether Merck was negligent and should have warned users of dangers.

Authorities said Certified Slings Inc. rigged bids for manufacturing metal sling hoist assemblies, which are used to transport items such as bombs and other munitions.

The central Florida-based company also agreed to pay a $150,000 fine, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday. The plea was made in the U.S. District Court in Islip, N.Y.

Certified Slings was part of a conspiracy to rig bids from December 2002 to October 2003, where "conspirators discussed and agreed among themselves which of them would win contracts from the U.S. Navy," the statement said.

A telephone message and e-mail left for the company by The Associated Press were not immediately returned Thursday night.

Four others have also been charged as a result of the investigation.

Pennsylvania executives Thomas Cunningham and Richard Barko pleaded guilty to rigging bids on U.S. Navy contracts in February and are currently awaiting sentencing.

In July, the former sales director of a New York-based company, Robert Fischetti, pleaded guilty to two counts of participating in separate conspiracies to rig bids on military equipment. Roger Jacobi, the president of another New York-based company was charged with conspiring to rig bids on DOD contracts in September.

Prosecutors contend 52-year-old Rickey Jimenez was behind the tiny fires that erupted last month in the Lake Hughes area. The largest burned about an acre and all were contained without property damage.

Jimenez is from Lake Hughes. He pleaded not guilty yesterday to eight felony arson counts that carry a maximum life sentence.

Jimenez was sent to prison in 1988 for a series of nail salon fires in the San Fernando Valley. He also has a 1979 arson conviction for a school fire.

Greenberg Traurig, an international law firm with more than 1,750 attorneys in 28 offices throughout the United States and Europe, including Tampa, has added nationally recognized attorney Robert A. "Rob" Soriano as a shareholder to its business reorganization and bankruptcy and litigation practices. Soriano joins the firm from Shutts & Bowen's Tampa office. He was previously at Carlton Fields, also in Tampa, where he headed that firm’s bankruptcy and creditors’ rights practice group.

“Rob Soriano has a national reputation in the area of creditors’ rights and bankruptcy and will strengthen this practice for Greenberg Traurig in the Middle District of Florida. To that end, Rob will spend part of his time in our Orlando office,” said David Weinstein, managing shareholder of Greenberg Traurig’s Tampa office. The office has grown by 16 lawyers since its founding in August of 2006.

“Bringing Rob to Greenberg Traurig is something I've been attempting to do for more than a decade. Given where Rob is in his career, how well our Tampa office is developing, and where the bankruptcy and insolvency practice appears to be headed, Rob’s decision to join us could not come at a more opportune time,” said Mark Bloom, co-managing shareholder of the firm’s Miami office and co-chair of the national business reorganization and bankruptcy practice.

“Greenberg Traurig has an excellent national platform and leadership position to offer my clients. In addition, this is somewhat of a homecoming as I will be working with old friends whose work I respect,” Soriano said. The firm’s business reorganization and bankruptcy practice brings together more than 65 attorneys located across the United States. The team has experience handling the many complex issues that arise in business reorganizations, restructurings, workouts, liquidations and distressed acquisitions and sales, as well as cross-border proceedings involving U.S. and foreign law.

Soriano received his undergraduate degree from Rutgers University, with high distinction, and his J.D., cum laude, from Syracuse University. He served as a law clerk to the Hon. Mark A. Costantino, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York, and practiced at Skadden Arps in New York before coming to Florida. He is a member of the bars of both New York and Florida. Soriano has been listed in Best Lawyers in America for more than 12 years, was given the highest rating in Chambers USA Guide to America's Leading Business Lawyers, and is listed in Florida Super Lawyers. In addition, Rob is a contributing editor to Collier Bankruptcy Practice Guide and to Chapter 11 Theory and Practice. He is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy and a member of The American Law Institute.

Recently, Greenberg Traurig was named “USA Law Firm of the Year” by Chambers and Partners. The award honors excellence in legal services in countries around the world. Winning firms are selected by a distinguished panel of judges made up of international corporate buyers of legal services. In Florida, practice areas that were ranked by Chambers and Partners in its USA Guide, or had members who were, include Bankruptcy/Restructuring; Construction; Corporate/Mergers and Acquisition; Environmental; Immigration Labor and Employment; Litigation; Litigation: Appellate; Real Estate; Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use; Tax; and Tax: Employee Benefits.

Greenberg Traurig is ranked seventh on The American Lawyer’s Am Law 100 listing of the largest law firms in the U.S., based on number of lawyers. Additionally, the firm has strategic alliances with the following independent law firms: Olswang, London and Brussels; Studio Santa Maria, Milan and Rome; and Hayabusa Asuka Law Offices in Tokyo. For additional information, please visit the firm's Web site at www.gtlaw.com.

Caplan Law Firm principal attorney Allan Caplan has announced that the firm is currently offering a new OWI practice specialty, defending residents of the state of Wisconsin who have been charged with OWI or Operating While Intoxicated. Wisconsin and other states typically use the term OWI as opposed to DWI or DUI with the operative word being ‘operating’.

Attorneys Allan Caplan and Joseph Tamburino are both licensed to practice law and try court cases in the State of Wisconsin. A principal of Caplan Law Firm, P.A.,, Allan Caplan spent six years prosecuting major felonies and white collar crimes as an Assistant Hennepin County Attorney During his 32-year career. In 1983, Mr. Caplan formed Caplan Law Firm, P.A., one of the largest criminal defense firms in the Midwest, with six lawyers representing clients in criminal law matters, both locally and nationally. A MInnesota DUI attorney, Mr. Caplan has achieved numerous acquittals and successful results for his clients in every type of case ranging from DWI and DUI to first-degree murder.

The Caplan Law Firm, P.A., recognized as a top criminal defense and Minnesota DUI law firm, has successfully represented numerous clients throughout Minnesota, the Minneapolis St. Paul area, Wisconsin, and the Federal Courts in a wide range of criminal matters.