Melbourne Federal Court Judge Christopher Jessup's decision opens the door for claims from 600 other litigants in a lawsuit against U.S. pharmaceutical firm Merck & Co. over its since-recalled drug Vioxx. The painkiller was taken off the global market in 2004 after research showed it raised the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Graeme Peterson, 59, of Melbourne, sued Merck and its Australian subsidiary, Merck Sharpe & Dohme, arguing the painkiller caused him to have a heart attack in 2003, leaving him unable to work.

The judge found that Merck Sharpe & Dohme failed in its duty of care by not warning Peterson's doctor about the drug's potential cardiovascular risk, and by its sales representatives emphasizing the drug's safety.

New York insurance law firm Anderson Kill & Olick, has named Larry Kill as chair of its Corpor ate & Commercial Litigation practice.

Kill has represented clients in a wide range of complex commercial litigation, with an emphasis on antitrust counseling and litigation, class action treble damage cases, trademark litigation and corporate person of interest criminal investigations.

Kill, a name shareholder who joined the firm in 1972, returns to the firm after a two-year hiatus at Reed Smith, where he has been a partner in the Antitrust and Competition practice.

Shane Kettner cried as he entered the pleas Wednesday in Portage County Circuit Court to three counts of first-degree intentional homicide and endangering safety.

Investigators found the bodies of 30-year-old Christine Gollon, 3-year-old Ashley Kettner and 2-year-old Griffin Kettner on April 30 after breaking into the family's barricaded home in Nelsonville. Gollon's mother had called police worried about her daughter's welfare.

Kettner was found with his infant daughter, Esther. Authorities say gasoline had been poured around the house and Kettner had written a suicide note.

The 36-year-old Kettner initially pleaded not guilty, then changed his plea to not guilty by reason of mental disease.

Ali Hariri, a former executive at Atheros Communications, pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy and securities fraud in what federal prosecutors call the largest hedge fund inside trading case in history. It is one in a series of guilty pleas through which prosecutors are trying to draw a net around Raj Rajaratnam, founder and operator of the Galleon Hedge Fund.

Hariri admitted he tipped off a co-conspirator to Atheros' earnings report. The co-conspirator then bought more than half a million shares of Atheros before the public announcement sent the share price up by 6 percent. The co-conspirator made hundreds of thousands of dollars from the trades.

Hariri, 38, of San Francisco, faces a maximum of 25 years in prison at his June 10 sentencing.

A California Marine accused of using Craigslist to arrange the rape of an ex-girlfriend in Wyoming has pleaded not guilty to five felonies.

Jebidiah James Stipe of Twentynine Palms, Calif., entered his plea in Wyoming's Natrona County District Court on Wednesday.

Prosecutors say Stipe posted an ad on Craigslist pretending to be a Casper woman and asking for someone to help play out a "rape fantasy." Prosecutors say a Bar Nunn man, Ty Oliver McDowell, replied to the posting.

McDowell is accused of raping the woman inside her home on Dec. 11. He has pleaded not guilty to five felonies.

A U.S. Marine Corps spokesman says Stipe was being discharged from the military "as a result of a pattern of misconduct" at the time of his arrest.

A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge Thursday approved the reorganization plan of the holding company of Denver’s MediaNews Group Inc., publisher of The Denver Post, the company said.

Confirmation of the “pre-packaged” plan by Judge Kevin Carey of U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware will allow Affiliated Media Inc., parent of MediaNews, to emerge from Chapter 11 protection.

“We knew we had a good plan going in, and it had been approved by the lenders before it was filed,” William Dean Singleton, chairman and CEO of MediaNews Group, said in a statement. “We are pleased that it won confirmation, and that our company is now well-positioned for the changing days ahead.”

Affiliated filed under Chapter 11 on Jan. 22 and submitted a plan already approved by major creditors, allowing it to greatly reduce its debt from $930 million to $165 million in debt in exchange for equity in the company, while leaving Singleton and President Joseph “Jody” Lodovic in control of the Affiliated/MediaNews management.

The state appeals court has upheld the involuntary manslaughter conviction of a woman in the June 2003 death of a baby in a Reading day care facility.

Ann Power had challenged her conviction in the death of 3-month-old MacKenzie Corrigan of Stoneham, who died of shaken baby syndrome after being injured in the day care facility Power ran in her home.

Power was convicted in 2006 of involuntary manslaughter by reasonof wanton or reckless conduct and received a three-to-five-year sentence. She also pleaded guilty to operating a family day care home without a license.

The Massachusetts Appeals Court rejected her appeal in a 16-page opinion written by Judge Mitchell J. Sikora.