ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, May 24, 1996 TAG: 9605240076
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW ORLEANS
SOURCE: Associated Press
A CLASS-ACTION SUIT against the cigarette industry was rejected because of its unwieldy size.
In a huge victory for the tobacco industry, a federal appeals court Thursday rejected a class-action liability suit brought against cigarette manufacturers on behalf of millions of smokers across the country.
A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously agreed with industry arguments that a case of such magnitude would be too unwieldy.
The lawsuit had the potential to be the biggest class-action case ever, embracing practically anyone who claimed to be hooked on cigarettes and exposing the tobacco industry to billions of dollars in claims.
It accuses the industry of concealing knowledge that nicotine is addictive and manipulating nicotine levels to keep smokers hooked.
Under the appeals court ruling, the case can still go forward as a lawsuit on behalf of the original plaintiffs - three smokers and Dianne Castano, whose husband died of lung cancer.
The lawsuit was filed in 1994 against the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., American Tobacco Co., Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., Philip Morris USA, Lorillard Corp., United States Tobacco, the Liggett Group and the industry's lobbying arm, the Tobacco Institute.
Liggett, the smallest of the nation's major tobacco companies, broke ranks in March and agreed to settle, pledging to dedicate some of its profits over 25 years to pay for stop-smoking programs. However, Liggett reserved the right to back out of the deal if the class-action was nullified.
Brown & Williamson hailed the ruling as ``a strong message to class-action plaintiffs' lawyers to stop the insanity in our nation's courts.''
The decision is ``a victory for the legal principles of this country,'' said Daniel W. Donahue, senior vice president and deputy general counsel for RJR.
The plaintiffs' attorneys said that they haven't decided whether to appeal but that they plan to file many class-action lawsuits in state courts to keep the pressure on the industry
Past damage suits have blamed the industry for tobacco-related deaths. The industry, however, has never lost a smoking-related lawsuit.
Plaintiffs' attorney Elizabeth Cabraser said the lawsuit's main objective was to force the tobacco industry to contribute to a medical fund to help people stop smoking. She said the plaintiffs would use newly uncovered documents detailing the companies' research into the effects of nicotine on smokers.
Last year, U.S. District Judge Okla Jones in New Orleans certified the case as a class-action embracing all addicted smokers and their surviving family members. A class-action is a lawsuit in which large numbers of plaintiffs with similar claims join in a single case for the sake of convenience.
Since the ruling, Jones died and the case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Ginger Berrigan.
LENGTH: Medium: 61 linesby CNB