Tobacco.org

Litigation overview 

Looking ahead

In the USA, several special factors lead to litigation that are not replicated in any other country, which is why large volume and high value litigation has spread to few other parts of the world.

While it is difficult to predict the outcome of every lawsuit in every country, our companies will continue to vigorously defend smoking and health litigation, drawing confidence from the industry's exceptionally good record when the law is properly applied.

Brown & Williamson Tobacco

Our exposure to US litigation has been reduced by the formation of Reynolds American Inc. in 2004, when R.J. Reynolds Tobacco combined with our former US business, Brown & Williamson Tobacco.

This means that we no longer have a wholly-owned subsidiary operating in the US market; instead, we have a 42 per cent shareholding in Reynolds American. Reynolds American now manages and co-ordinates Brown & Williamson defendant cases.

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Jackson Co. judge rules in tobacco settlement  

A Mississippi judge has ruled that R.J. Reynolds shortchanged the state of Mississippi millions of dollars when it failed to report profits from the sale of 7.8 billion cigarettes made for Star Tobacco.

Chancery Judge Jaye Bradley on Wednesday awarded the state $3.8 million for the underpayments, plus $4.3 million in interest, for a total of $8.1 million.

The state argued that from 1999 to 2002 R.J Reynolds excluded 7.8 billion cigarettes from a 1997 lawsuit settlement that were manufactured by its subsidiary Brown and Williamson for Star Tobacco & Pharmaceuticals, an independent tobacco company.

The cigarettes were then packaged and sold to U.S. customers by Star Tobacco.

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State awarded $8.1M in tobacco money  

Chancery Judge Jaye Bradley on Wednesday ordered Brown & Williamson to pay the state $8.1 million in tobacco settlement money owed for the sale of more than 600 million Star cigarettes that went unreported.

The 1998 tobacco settlement required the company, which later merged with R.J. Reynolds, to pay the state for all of the cigarettes sold here, but Brown & Williamson failed to do so. Attorney General Jim Hood filed the suit demanding the company pay the state the money plus interest.

The state argued the company made the cigarettes but shipped them to Star cigarettes, a third party manufacturer, for sale in the state of Mississippi.

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• Judge awards state $8M from tobacco company  

Attorney General Jim Hood's lawsuit against Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. received an $8 million victory in court today.

Judge Jaye A. Bradley, in the Chancery Court of Jackson County, issued a ruling today on the Attorney General's Motion to Enforce Settlement against B&W.

The original tobacco settlement requires the company to pay Mississippi for every cigarette it makes and ships. The Attorney General argued that B&W made cigarettes but shipped them to a third-party manufacturer, STAR. STAR tobacco then sold those cigarettes to consumers in Mississippi.

"The Court agreed with our position that B&W could not use such trickery to avoid paying Mississippi for those cigarettes," Hood said.

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• Canada seeks testimony from US, British lawyers 

A former attorney for the tobacco industry who t estified against his employers is at the center of two Canadian lawsuits alleging that tobacco companies hid the dangers of their products.

Attorneys in Montreal want to take the testimony of David A. Schechter, a former Brown & Williamson vice president and general counsel living in Louisville.

The attorneys also want testimony from attorney John Meltzer of London, England, a one-time attorney for British American Tobacco, in class-action lawsuits about how tobacco companies kept and destroyed documents. The lawsuits are set for trial in March.

Schechter will be asked about document policies at Brown & Williamson . . .

Johnston is also seeking testimony about another company, Imperial Tobacco of Canada, which used a similar policy.

"The object of these policies was to destroy documents to prevent their discovery in litigation," Johnston told The Associated Press.

Johnston represents plaintiff Cecilia Letourneau in the cases against Imperial Tobacco, Rothmans, Benson & Hedges and JTI Macdonald Corp.

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MS being short changed millions of dollars in tobacco settlement  

The state of Mississippi is being short changed millions of dollars in the 1998 Tobacco Settlement. That's according to a motion heard in Jackson County Chancery Court today.

In arguing for the state Biloxi Attorney Matthew Mestayer said Brown and Williams, one of the four major cigarette companies in the tobacco settlement, excluded 7.8 billion cigarettes made by Brown and Williams (sic) for another company.

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VIDEO: The man who would be Speaker  

John Boehner made his mark in Washington by passing out tobacco-industry bribes campaign contribution checks to his fellow Republicans on the floor of the House during the roll-call on a bill to eliminate tobacco subsidies.

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LETTER: Boehner likes tobacco -- and its money 

But now we have a new smoker-in­chief -- it's the new Speaker of the House, John Boehner. He's known for spending time in "Smoker's Alley" outside the lobby of the Speaker of the House. And he's un­apologetic about the image he proj­ects to our nation's youth. He's fine with smoking. And why not? He's an old hand at corrupting government with tobacco money.

The media wastes its focus these days on tawdry priorities like Boehn­er's orange tan and penchant for tears. It forgets the more important stuff -- like the time the man ran around the floor of the House of Rep­resentatives just minutes before a crucial vote on tobacco legislation. The House was about to vote to end federal tobacco subsidies. Why was he running around? -- to pass out a fistful of tobacco lobby checks to con­gressmen whose vote big tobacco needed.

Today, this man is in the driver's seat. His rise to power is an example of corporate money well spent. For the next several years, don't expect much to come from the House of Rep­resentatives to relax the stranglehold big business has on our nation's gov­ernment.

Teddy Roosevelt -- where are you when we need you?

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• CIVIL DOCKET FOR CASE #: 1:99-cv-02496-GK USA v. PHILIP MORRIS USA, et al 

12/22/2010 5846 ORDER that by consent of the Parties, Defendant Council for Tobacco Research-USA, Inc. and Defendant Tobacco Institute are dismissed; the Government shall file its Motion to Compel BATCo to comply with Order #1015 by December 28, 2011 (see order for details on briefing dates); by consent of the parties Brown and Williamson Holdings is deemed not to be a defendant and therefore not subject to Order #1015; the Government shall continue preparation of its Corrective States to be submitted by February 3, 2011, Intervenors and Defendants shall respond thereto by March 30, 2011; see Order for dates for the filing of the Motion to Compel, etc.; a furtber Status Conference shall be held on February 22, 2011, at 10:00 a.m. Signed by Judge Gladys Kessler on 12/22/10. (CL, ) (Entered: 12/22/2010)

12/22/2010 Set/Reset Deadlines/Hearings: Motions to Compel due by 12/28/2010. Status Conference set for 2/22/2011 10:00 AM in Courtroom 26A before Judge Gladys Kessler. (CL, ) (Entered: 12/22/2010)

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UYGUR: John "Tobacco Checks" Boehner 

The Republicans just selected John "Tobacco Checks" Boehner as their Majority Leader. He is supposed to lead their efforts at reform. Forget that he spent $150,000 buying the loyalty of fellow Congressmen before the vote. Forget that he was responsible for coordinating relations with lobbyists for Republicans during his tenure as House Republican Conference chairman. This guy once actually handed out checks on the House floor for votes.

This must seem like a ridiculous joke. But it isn't. John Boehner actually handed out checks from the tobacco industry on the floor of the House to fellow Congressmen in 1995 when they were considering a bill to end a tobacco subsidy.

How brazen are these guys? They just elected this guy to clean up the lobbying problems in the House. Are they kidding? Is this some sort of joke? I guess they're laughing at your expense. They think they're so clever. What do you think?

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Blunt, Boehner Share Broad Network of Lobbyist Ties With DeLay 

Representatives Roy Blunt of Missouri and John Boehner of Ohio have been among the key intermediaries between Republican lawmakers and lobbyists since their party took control of the U.S. Congress in 1995.

Now, with both men vying to succeed Representative Tom DeLay as House majority leader, those ties may loom as an issue.

Representative Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican, said concerns that the two men are too close to Washington's K Street lobbying corridor may encourage a dark-horse candidate to run against them. ``We have three weeks until this election, and a lot can happen between now and then,'' Flake said. . . .

In 1995, Boehner handed out campaign checks from the tobacco industry to members on the House floor at a time when lawmakers were considering eliminating a tobacco subsidy. . . .

Blunt also has links to the tobacco industry. In 2002, he tried to insert language into a bill creating the Homeland Security Department that would have aided Philip Morris Cos., now Altria Group Inc., by making it harder to sell cigarettes over the Internet, the Washington Post reported. Blunt later married Altria lobbyist Abigail Perlman.

New York-based Altria, whose Philip Morris unit is the nation's largest tobacco company, is Blunt's biggest career campaign donor, giving $202,909 to his campaign committee and leadership PACs through 2004, according to a review of campaign- finance disclosures.

``This slate is not going to be the new broom to sweep clean,'' said Celia Wexler, vice president for advocacy at Common Cause, a Washington-based group that's pushing for tougher ethics laws. ``There's no indication that Boehner and Blunt have ever bucked this way of looking at things or doing business. They have been part of the K Street clique.''

DeLay's Jan. 7 decision to permanently relinquish his leadership post came after former aides were mentioned in a plea-bargain agreement with Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff. House Republicans, who will hold a new vote the week of Jan. 30, have pledged to address ethics issues, including a possible overhaul of lobbying rules.

Blunt, 55, and DeLay, 58, share a network of ties as extensive as any in Congress, including links to lobbyists.

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John Boehner  

John Andrew Boehner, a Republican, has represented the Eighth Congressional District of Ohio in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1992. (map). He is currently the House Minority Leader. . . .

In late June of 1995 then-GOP Conference Chairman John Boehner handed out "about a half-dozen" checks from the political action committee of tobacco company Brown & Williamson Corp. to fellow Republicans on the floor of the House.

Boehner's chief of staff Barry Jackson stated, "We were trying to help guys who needed to get their June 30th numbers up, their cash-on-hand numbers up. All leadership does this. We have to raise money for people and help them raise money."

Boehner was forced to stop handed out the checks when two freshmen Republicans, "appalled by it," confronted him and voiced their displeasure. Boehner's reaction was one of tempered apology, "I thought, 'Yeah, I can imagine why somebody would be upset. It sure doesn't look good.' It's not an excuse, but the floor is the only place you get to see your colleagues. It was a matter of convenience. You make a mistake, admit it and go on. I just feel bad about it." (Associated Press, 5/10/96)

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Boehner a personable, partisan speaker-in-waiting  

The Boehners, like many big Catholic families, were what Bob Boehner calls conservative "Kennedy Democrats," but not politically active. . . .

Critics paint it as something more unseemly, part of a broader characterization of Boehner as beholden to special interests.

The lore of Boehner's connections to the K Street lobbying scene includes late-night events that lobbyists have thrown for him at Republican conventions, his 1996 apology for passing out checks from tobacco PACs on the House floor, his "Thursday group" meetings with lobbyists on Capitol Hill and his annual "beach party" fundraiser on D.C.'s waterfront to court rich donors.

The Democratic National Committee launched BoehnerLand.com to track Boehner's many ties to lobbyists.

Boehner, for his part, says there's nothing untoward about keeping in close touch with business interests.

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I've spent my whole life chasing the American dream.
Speaker-in-waiting John Boehner, on election night.

If you're going to ask people to give you money, why not let them enjoy themselves.
Speaker-in-waiting John Boehner, to Golf Digest in 2005.

• HERBERT: That’s Where the Money Is  

It's beyond astonishing to me that John Boehner has a real chance to be speaker of the House of Representatives.

I've always thought of Mr. Boehner as one of the especially sleazy figures in a capital seething with sleaze. I remember writing about that day back in the mid-'90s when this slick, chain-smoking, quintessential influence-peddler decided to play Santa Claus by handing out checks from tobacco lobbyists to fellow Congressional sleazes right on the floor of the House.

It was incredible, even to some Republicans. The House was in session, and here was a congressman actually distributing money on the floor. Other, more serious, representatives were engaged in debates that day on such matters as financing for foreign operations and a proposed amendment to the Constitution to outlaw desecration of the flag. Mr. Boehner was busy desecrating the House itself by doing the bidding of big tobacco.

Embarrassed members of the G.O.P. tried to hush up the matter, but I got a tip and called Mr. Boehner's office. His chief of staff, Barry Jackson, was hardly contrite. "They were contributions from tobacco P.A.C.'s," he said. . . .

The Times's Eric Lipton, in an article last month, noted that Mr. Boehner "maintains especially tight ties with a circle of lobbyists and former aides representing some of the nation's biggest businesses, including Goldman Sachs, Google, Citigroup, R.J. Reynolds, MillerCoors and UPS.

"They have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to his campaigns, provided him with rides on their corporate jets, socialized with him at luxury golf resorts and waterfront bashes and are now leading fund-raising efforts for his Boehner for Speaker campaign, which is soliciting checks of up to $37,800 each, the maximum allowed."

The hack who once handed out checks on the House floor is now a coddled, gilded flunky of the nation's big-time corporate elite. . . .

The U.S. is in terrible shape right now because far too much influence has been ceded to the financial and corporate elites who have used that influence to game the system and reap rewards that are almost unimaginable. Ordinary working Americans have been left far behind, gasping and on their knees.

John Boehner has been one of the leaders of the army of enablers responsible for this abominable state of affairs.

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• G.O.P. Leader Is Tightly Bound to Lobbyists 

Mr. Boehner won some of his first national headlines back in 1996 after he was caught handing out checks from tobacco lobbyists to fellow Republicans on the House floor. Then the fourth-ranking House Republican, Mr. Boehner said he had broken no rules and was simply assisting his lobbyist friends, who were contributing to other Republicans' campaigns. . . .

But he continued to routinely meet with business leaders, particularly in his role as chairman of the Education and the Workforce Committee, and returned to power as House G.O.P. leader in 2006. Several of the onetime Thursday regulars, along with some newcomers, are among the close-knit group that routinely call on Mr. Boehner's office for client matters, write checks to his campaign and socialize with him.

That tight circle includes Mr. Isakowitz; Bruce Gates, a lobbyist for the cigarette maker Altria; Nicholas E. Calio, a Citigroup lobbyist; and two former aides, Marc Lampkin and Sam Geduldig, both now financial services lobbyists.

The tobacco industry is particularly well represented, with both Mr. Gates and John Fish, a lobbyist for R. J. Reynolds, maker of Camel cigarettes, in the group. People affiliated with those companies have contributed at least $340,000 to Mr. Boehner's political campaigns, with Mr. Gates being the top individual donor among the thousands during Mr. Boehner's political career, according to a tally by the Center for Public Integrity. . . .

From 2000 to 2007, Mr. Boehner flew at least 45 times, often with his wife, Debbie, on corporate jets provided by companies including R. J. Reynolds. (As required, Mr. Boehner reimbursed part of the costs.)

In addition, over the last decade, he has taken 41 other trips paid for by corporate sponsors or industry groups, often to popular golf spots. Those trips make him one of the top House beneficiaries of such travel, which has recently been curbed as a result of changes in ethics rules in Washington.

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