This story was sent to you by: $ -------------------- Court Won't Let Bush Push Tobacco Penalty --------------------
By GINA HOLLAND Associated Press Writer October 17, 2005, 12:33 PM EDT WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court refused Monday to allow the Bush administration to pursue a $280 billion penalty against tobacco companies on claims they misled the public about the dangers of smoking. The decision, a major victory for cigarette makers, was not unexpected because the government's case is still pending and the federal judge who presided over the nine-month trial has not yet decided whether tobacco companies are guilty of wrongdoing. The Supreme Court declined, without comment, to intervene now, and the case could return to justices next year. The fight at the high court was over the amount of money the companies would have to pay, if the judge rules that they violated a federal anti-racketeering law known as RICO. Shares of Altria Group Inc., parent of the biggest U.S. cigarette company Philip Morris USA, climbed $4.34, or 6.1 percent, to $75 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange. William Ohlemeyer, Altria vice president, said the decision was appropriate. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said while the administration was disappointed, "We continue to believe very strongly in this case." William Corr, executive director of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said Monday that the Justice Department "should not use the Supreme Court's decision as an excuse to let the tobacco companies off the hook with a weak settlement." A federal appeals court in Washington had ruled that the government could not pursue the $280 billion, the most ever sought in a civil racketeering trial. Then-appeals court Judge John Roberts had recused himself from the case there, without giving a reason. Roberts, who is now the chief justice, participated in the case at the Supreme Court. "The government's suit, by any measure, is the most important civil RICO action that the government has ever brought," justices had been told by Bush administration lawyer Edwin Kneedler. The lawsuit was filed by the Clinton administration, and Kneedler argued that if the court did not step in now to deal with this issue, the case may drag on several more years. The tobacco companies' lawyer, Michael Carvin of Washington, said that the court should give U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler time to decide the case. He also argued that the government had a weak case "far removed from the heartland of RICO." The Supreme Court is already hearing a case involving the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, and whether the law can be used against anti-abortion protesters. The law, aimed primarily at fighting mobsters, has both criminal and civil provisions. The government has said that the $280 billion is an estimate of money that companies including Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds earned illegally through fraudulent activities. It may still pursue a request for $10 billion for a stop-smoking program and $4 billion for education. The government had been harshly criticized for not asking for more. An expert had recommended a $130 billion stop-smoking program. The government has spent $140 million since 1999 litigating the case, and the Justice Department also is trying to force tobacco companies to pay those costs. The federal case is independent of settlements worth $246 billion that states reached with the industry in the late 1990s to recoup the cost of treating sick smokers. The defendants in the lawsuit are Philip Morris USA Inc. and its parent, Altria Group Inc.; R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.; Brown & Williamson Tobacco Co.; British American Tobacco Ltd.; Lorillard Tobacco Co.; Liggett Group Inc.; Counsel for Tobacco Research-U.S.A.; and the Tobacco Institute. The case is United States v. Philip Morris, 05-92. * __ On the Net: Supreme Court: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/ Justice Department tobacco litigation: http://www.usdoj.gov/civil/cases/tobacco2/ Copyright (c) 2005, The Associated Press Visit Sun-Sentinel.com ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Fair play? Video games influencing politics. Click and talk back! http://us.click.yahoo.com/VpgUKB/pzNLAA/cUmLAA/KlSolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> ForumWebSiteAt http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Libertarian Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Libertarian/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
