Daily Doc: PM, 1995: The tobacco industry & tort reform
Daily Doc: The tobacco industry & tort reform
Title: No title
PM, 1995
Bates #: 2046972451/2476
March 29, 2000
Tort law protects consumers who are harmed by products. The tobacco industry has long faced an increasing number of lawsuits brought by people who have suffered for using their products. Of course, it would be in the industry's interest to decrease these suits one way or another. Outside of making the product completely safe, the only other way for the industry to reduce its risk is to change the legal system in it's favor.
Some ways to decrease the number of tort lawsuits being brought against them is to make it harder for people to sue: make it harder for victims to prove both damage and liability, and cap the amount of money a victim can recoup for their damage and suffering. This not only makes it harder for sick and dying smokers to bring successful suits, but lowering the potential payout also makes attorneys less likely to take these cases at all.
Such a situation would, of course, be a pleasant situation for the tobacco industry.
According to this document, the tobacco industry is deeply involved with tort reform efforts both at the state and federal levels.
Interestingly, one prescient line from this document says:
"Our objective here is to assure that the legal system recognizes both the rights and the responsibilities of adults who have made informed choices...."In this era of lawsuits finally going against the industry, this could be construed as going both ways, for if you claim the right to manufacture a highly addictive, deadly product AND work hard to keep that product in millions of peoples' hands, you one day will face the responsibility for having done so.
CITATION
Title: No title
Type of Document: Speech, privileged and confidential draft
Author: N/A (found in the file of John S. Sorells)
Date: 19950000/E
Site: Philip Morris document site http://www.pmdocs.com/
Bates No.: 2046972451/2476
URL of entire document: http://www.pmdocs.com/getallimg.asp?DOCID=2046972451/2476
URL of page where this passage starts: http://www.pmdocs.com/getimg.asp?DOCID=2046972451/2476&PGNO=2046972471&START=10&BOOL=Bring+and+work+product+and+health&docnum=17
Found using search criteria: "Bring and work product and health" (Murray Bring was a PM attorney)
QUOTES
Finally, we come to the alleged consequences of smoking. As I said earlier, the antis have come to the conclusion that they can't achieve an outright ban on cigarettes.
As a result, their strategy has shifted, in part, to a kind of logic that says, "If you can't kill the product, kill the company that makes it."
Add to this the financial incentives of plaintiff's attorneys who hope to obtain large portions of huge payments in traditional product liability or new class actions law suits, and the state is set for continued litigation against the company.
Our objective here is to assure that the legal system recognizes both the rights and the responsibilities of adults who have made informed choices....
...In addition to our aggressive defense of the lawsuits, we are taking aggressive, proactive action in the area of Tort Reform.
Until last Fall's elections, tort reform at the federal level was, regardless of our best efforts, a very difficult undertaking.
A coalition in the business community of which we were a part had attempted federal tort reform for 14 years, but the American Trial Lawyers Association, ATLA, had its Senate allies filibuster each measure each time it was offered.
In the House, former Judiciary Committee Chairman Jack Brooks -- a major ATLA attorney -- bottled up the legislation in Committee and never held so much as a hearing in 14 years.
Things have changed. On March 10, after a major grassroots campaign, the House passed the "Common Sense Product Liability and Legal Reform Act."
The bill caps punitive damages in any civil action at the greater of $250,000 or three times economic damages, while raising the burden of proof before punitive damages can be awarded. It eliminates joint liability for non-economic damages in any civil action. And the bill contains no anti-tobacco provisions. Representative Waxman offered an amendment at committee markup to exclude tobacco litigation from the reforms. His effort was defeated by a voice vote.
Companion legislation has been offered in the Senate. We expect ATLA to spend in excess of $20 million to try to defeat the measure in the Senate....
As the debate continues, we will continue to participate vigorously in a massive grassroots' communications effort conducted by the nationwide coalition of businesses of which we are a part, in order to encourage the Senate to pass the bill....
Grassroots and communications campaigns will also target the White House.
If the Senate does pass a version of the bill, the coalition will then shift to lobbying the Conference Committee to urge it to adopt the stronger House version of the bill.
Significant tort reform efforts are also proceeding at the State level.
In Texas, a reform bill has passed the senate... In Illinois, on March 9th, the Governor signed into law a sweeping tort reform measure... And in Florida, the entire business community is supporting legislation to repeal the health care liability statute enacted in 1994.
Overall, the prospects for enacting additional reform legislation during the remainder of 1995 are good. We are actively trying to improve the law in all states, and comprehensive product liability legislation has already been introduced in a number of states including Arkansas, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina and Wisconsin.
[underlining appears in original]
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