Mark Lanier

• Mark Lanier - Houston Plaintiffs' Attorney

A plaintiffs' attorney and part-time Baptist preacher, W. Mark Lanier combined his skill in both professions to win over a Texas jury in the nation's first Vioxx trial last summer. The result was a $253.1 million verdict on Aug. 19 for Carol Ernst, whose husband, Robert C. Ernst, died in 2001 of an arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeat. Ernst, 59, a triathlete and personal trainer, had been after taking Vioxx for about eight months to ease pain in his hands.

• Lawyers USA
• December 19, 2005

• First Neurontin Suicide Trial Begins: Plaintiffs' Lawyer Attacks Off- Label Marketing

Addressing jurors in the first Neurontin suicide trial, plaintiffs' lawyer Mark Lanier asserted that drug maker Pfizer knew the anti-epilepsy medication increased the risk of suicide, but intentionally marketed off-label uses to boost the drug's sales. Lanier, a well-known Houston attorney, is representing the family of Susan Bulger, a 39-year-old Peabody, Mass. woman who killed herself in September 2004.

• Lawyers USA
• July 30, 2009

• Merck's First Adversary in Vioxx Case Is Folksy Texas Preacher- Turned-Lawyer

HOUSTON - Mark Lanier doesn't need a church to have a pulpit. The 44-year-old Houston litigator once aimed to be a preacher, earning a seminary degree after honing his oratory skills before a congregation of 1,000 at his hometown church in West Texas.

• The Record, Bergen County, NJ
• July 11, 2005

• Floor Tape Manufacturer Donates One-Thousand Feet of Superior Mark Floor Tape to Baton Rouge School, Featured On Nbc's 'School Pride'

WAKE FOREST, N.C., Nov. 3, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Floor tape manufacturer InSite Solutions donated 1,000 feet of their signature floor marking tape Superior Mark to Lanier Elementary School in Baton Rouge, LA. NBC's reality show "School Pride" documented the complete renovation of the 52-year-old school. The school needed well-marked floors to designate appropriate walkways for students. Superior Mark was used to accomplish this objective. The show aired Oct. 22, 2010. The show's producer, who was looking for a way to mark the floors inside the school with the most durable floor tape available, contacted InSite for advice. InSite sells over 300 different types of floor marking tapes on their ecommerce website Stop- painting.com, and they are known to be experts on alternatives to paint fo...

• U.S. Newswire
• November 03, 2010

• Lawyer in Vioxx Trial Known for Theatrics

HOUSTON - Mark Lanier doesn't need a church to have a pulpit. The 44-year-old Houston litigator once aimed to be a preacher, earning a seminary degree after honing his oratory skills before a congregation of 1,000 at his hometown church in West Texas.

• Charleston Gazette
• July 11, 2005

• Firm Accused of 'Merck-Y Ethics' in First Vioxx Trial

ANGLETON, Texas -- Merck & Co. traded its mission of healing and treating sickness for relentless marketing and pursuit of profits, a plaintiff's lawyer in the nation's first Vioxx-related lawsuit to go to trial told jurors Thursday. Mark Lanier, representing widow Carol Ernst, displayed the phrase "Merck-y ethics" on a large screen and promised to skewer the judgment of a company he said knew the popular painkiller could be dangerous years before a study showed it could double risk of heart attack or stroke. That study prompted Merck to voluntarily remove it from the market last year.

• Deseret News (Salt Lake City)
• July 15, 2005

• Both Sides Gamble to Win in Vioxx 'War Rooms' ; Atlantic City Hotels Are Base for Strategy

ATLANTIC CITY Thirty-six floors below, there are 3,510 slot machines, 177 table games and a world of temptation. For the legal eagles hunkered down in Room 3628 at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, though, gambling isn't on the docket. For weeks, lawyer Mark Lanier and his associates, paralegals and support staff have been spending nights in this hotel suite plotting strategy, guessing at the enemy's next move, looking behind to look ahead.

• The Record, Bergen County, NJ
• March 27, 2006

• Nation's First Vioxx Trial Begins; Plaintiff's Lawyer Accuses Drug Maker of 'Merck-Y Ethics'

ANGLETON, Texas (AP) - Merck & Co. traded its mission of healing and treating sickness for relentless marketing and pursuit of profits, a plaintiff's lawyer in the nation's first Vioxx-related lawsuit to go to trial told jurors Thursday. Mark Lanier, representing widow Carol Ernst, displayed the phrase "Merck-y ethics" on a large screen and promised to skewer the judgment of a company he said knew the popular painkiller could be dangerous years before a study showed it could double risk of heart attack or stroke. That study prompted Merck to voluntarily remove it from the market last year.

• Telegraph - Herald (Dubuque)
• July 15, 2005

• In the Trenches at Vioxx Trial

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - Thirty-six floors below, there are 3,510 slot machines, 177 table games and a world of temptation. For the legal eagles hunkered down in Room 3628 at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, though, gambling isn't on the docket. For weeks, lawyer Mark Lanier and his associates, paralegals and support staff have been spending nights in this hotel suite - plotting strategy, guessing at the enemy's next move, looking behind to look ahead.

• Charleston Gazette
• March 27, 2006

• Merck Blasted ; Bullying of Doctors Alleged at Vioxx Trial

Merck & Co. deceived and bullied doctors to boost sales of the Vioxx painkiller, the attorney for a Texas widow said in opening arguments at the first trial stemming from thousands of lawsuits over the drug. Mark Lanier, representing the family of Robert Ernst, told jurors Thursday in state court in Angleton, Texas, that Merck tracked the prescriptions written by individual doctors to come up with a "hit list" of potential customers while teaching its salespeople to duck questions about the drug's safety.

• The Record, Bergen County, NJ
• July 15, 2005