From: bill@smokescreen.org
Date: Sat, 03/08/03
To send a letter to Gov. Blagojevich and key IL legislators urging
opposition to Philip Morris protection legislation (HB 276 & SB 102), go
to www.smokefree.org/IL The bills are at
http://www.legis.state.il.us/legislation/default.asp Here are a news
story and my letter.
Illinois Judge To Rule Quickly On Philip Morris
By Gordon Fairclough
The Wall Street Journal
03/07/2003
An Illinois judge said he intends to hand down a verdict in a
class-action case against Philip Morris USA on Monday, most likely
before state lawmakers can act on a bill to limit the size of the bond
the company would have to post to appeal any loss.
Judge Nicholas Byron of the state circuit court in Madison County said
he expects to rule from the bench once closing arguments are finished.
"Monday at five o'clock we'll know the winner and the loser," the judge
said in court on Wednesday.
The plaintiffs allege that Philip Morris misled them about the dangers
of so-called light cigarettes. They are seeking more than $7 billion in
compensatory damages, their estimate of the money spent by Illinois
smokers on Marlboro Lights and Cambridge Lights from 1971 to last year.
The plaintiffs, representing an estimated 1.1 million Illinois smokers,
are also seeking a punitive award.
Philip Morris denies the allegations and says light cigarettes carry the
same government-mandated health warning as regular cigarettes.
Public-health experts have for years said that low-tar cigarettes are
just as dangerous as regular smokes, and in 2001, the National Cancer
Institute published a report criticizing the marketing of "lights" as
"deceptive." That has helped fuel a new round of lawsuits on light
cigarettes.
The Illinois legislature is considering a bill, backed by Philip Morris,
a unit of Altria Group Inc., that would put a $25 million limit on the
size of any bond the company would have to post to appeal an adverse
verdict.
Under current law, losing defendants must post a bond equal to the size
of the entire judgment.
Some industry analysts aren't very sanguine about the company's
prospects in Madison County, a jurisdiction known for its high number of
class-action lawsuits. "Given the judge's comments thus far, and our
sense of the environment in Illinois, we would not be hopeful on a win,"
said Merrill Lynch tobacco analyst Martin Feldman.
Without the legislation, "the level of uncertainty surrounding the case
grows significantly," Mr. Feldman said. News that the judge would
decide the case quickly sent Altria shares down $1.71, to $37.28 as of 4
p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.
Before a Florida jury levied a landmark $144.9 billion verdict against
the country's five largest tobacco companies in 2000, Florida enacted a
law limiting the bond required in class-action suits to the lesser of
$100 million or 10% of a defendant's net worth. That case is still on
appeal.
(Copyright (c) 2003, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)
- - -
February 13, 2003
Dear Governor Blagojevich:
Please reject HB 276, which would eliminate existing incentives for
Philip Morris to settle the ongoing Lights consumer-fraud class-action
suit in Madison County, and would let Philip Morris appeal (for years)
an unfavorable verdict at sharply reduced costs.
Just as Philip Morris used to lie about nicotine addiction and the
many diseases caused by their cigarettes, the world's largest cigarette
company is now lying when claiming they could be bankrupted by a court
verdict in Madison County. Virtually nobody has easier and quicker
access to many billions of dollars than does Philip Morris.
But instead of playing by the same rules of civil litigation that
everyone else in Illinois must abide by, Philip Morris wants the
Legislature to intervene on its behalf in an ongoing trial. Clearly,
Philip Morris has no respect for the separation of powers, but you are
sworn to uphold Constitutions.
If HB 276 is defeated, Philip Morris might settle the lights
lawsuit, which would bring justice to hundreds of thousands of injured
Illinois smokers who were defrauded into believing that light cigarettes
were safer then other cigarettes. A settlement may also include an
agreement whereby the cigarette company stops engaging in this fraud,
which would benefit tens of millions of consumers nationwide.
Even if a settlement is not attained and a multi-billion dollar
verdict is rendered in the case, Philip Morris could pay an appeal bond
by simply raising the price of cigarettes, which would reduce smoking.
Once again, please reject this unwarranted and unconstitutional
legislation that would deny civil justice for Illinois consumers,
further threaten public health, and only benefit the world's deadliest
drug pusher.
Sincerely,
Bill Godshall
SmokeFree Pennsylvania
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