ENGLE  TRIAL -

Tobacco Companies are trying cosmetics to hide their sins; spreading fears of going broke; convincing states to partner with tobacco by protecting state tobacco money.

Six states have now passed legislation designed to protect the tobacco companies, and the money slated to be sent to the states thanks to the state attorneys general agreement with tobacco companies.
 

Excerpts from The Charleston Gazette, May 3, 2001, writer J. R. Brammer, headlined:  Wise signs bill capping tobacco appeal bond

               Gov. Bob Wise signed a bill late Wednesday capping the amount of money tobacco companies will have to pay to appeal unfavorable court rulings.

               The law (SB661) means if a jury awards damages to West Virginia plaintiffs, the money tobacco companies must pay to appeal the case can't exceed $100 million for punitive damages and $100 million for compensatory damages.

               Anti-tobacco groups had lobbied Wise to veto the measure, saying it allows companies a relatively cheap way to avoid paying damages by keeping cases tied up in litigation. They argued that big tobacco firms have made the threat of bankruptcy into a bigger deal than it really is.

               Proponents said the caps address concerns about tobacco companies going bankrupt and not being able to pay the state's portion of the $206 billion Master Settlement Agreement of 1998.  Under the MSA, West Virginia receives between $56 and $74 million annually.

               Since the MSA was signed, West Virginia has spent its
               installments on Medicaid, public health programs and
               construction projects.

               Edward Sweda Jr., senior attorney for the Tobacco Products Liability Project in Boston, attended Philip Morris' annual
shareholders meeting in Richmond, Va. last week.

               "When they're talking about the impact of the lawsuits with friends and investors from Wall Street, everything is rosy and the bottom line is fine," Sweda said. "When they're talking about the issue with state governments, there's the threat of bankruptcy and their inability to continue paying the settlement and they say they need protection.

               "It's always astounding to see how manipulative the tobacco companies can be."

               Tim Manchin, president of the West Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, says the law sets a precedent for other industries to request special protection and consideration.

               Judges typically require that appeal bonds equal those of  damages.

               West Virginia becomes the sixth state to have caps placed on appeal bonds.
 

Links to Lists of articles and Information on trial
            as well as efforts to delay or stop the trial including the
   Florida legislature interfered in the Engle trial, capping amount for bond appeal.
    Oppostion to the Florida Tobacco Shield - had been announced by:
                    Virginia GASP, on this web site
   Action on Smoking and Health on its web site
    Tobacco Product Liability Project news release
    Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids news release
   Tri-Agency, Florida news release
   GASP of Florida news release
   American Cancer Society news release
   Nutshell Overview of trial and efforts to delay outcome
   Links to North Carolina's efforts to delay or stall Engle trial
   Links to Virginia's efforts to delay Engle Trial

EXCERPTS from Bloomberg, May 5, 2000, writer Lawrence Viele; headlined:         Tobacco Companies Win Damage Protection From Florida Lawmakers

                       The measure ...  would put a ceiling of $100 million on the bond the
                      companies must post while they appeal a damage verdict. Philip
                      Morris Cos. and other companies would thus be spared the
                      possibility of bankruptcy from a multibillion dollar judgment.

                      The bill passed unanimously in the House today and by a 37-2
                      vote in the Senate earlier this week.

                      "Our interest is entirely in the financial aspects of this
                      settlement,'' said State Representative Carlos Lacasa, a Miami
                      Republican.

                       "We think current law addressed the problem, but I think
                      this is the way to go. I don't think this is a bailout of the
                      industry,'' said Neal Roth, president of the Academy of Florida
                      Trial Lawyers.

                      The bond cap is unnecessary and sets a bad precedent, said
                      plaintiffs' lawyer Larry Stewart of Miami. He said Florida case
                      law already bars damages that could bankrupt a company and
                      bankruptcy court offers protections as well.

                      "The irony of it all is now the state of Florida, which
                      successfully sued tobacco -- which everyone agreed was evil -- is
                      now through the Florida legislature in cahoots with the
                      industry,'' he said.

                      A six-member Miami jury awarded $12.7 million in
                      compensatory damages on behalf of three former smokers last month.
                      The jury will begin hearing arguments May 15 on punitive damages
                      for all smokers in the state.
 

EXCERPTS from Bloomberg, April 24, 2000, writer Lawrence VIele; headlined:   Philip Morris Loses Bid to Delay Florida Punitive Damages Trial
                       Philip Morris lawyer Daniel Webb asked Dade County Circuit
                      Court Judge Robert Kaye to rule on up to 40 motions filed
                      earlier in the case before letting the jury hear arguments on
                      punitive damages May 15. The companies also wanted time
                      to appeal any adverse rulings on those motions, Webb said.
                     The judge rejected the request.  'You've had four years,'' Kaye
                      told Webb.  "See you all on May 15.''

Letter to the Editor, Sun-Sentinel, published April 23, 2000 (not available on-line); headlined:  Killing the goose?

Killing the goose?
    What is going on in Tallahassee is outrageous.  Our Florida Legislature is in session right now protecting the tobacco industry.  The tobacco victims (trial in Miami) are in the midst of having their day in court and our legislators are ready to pull the rug from under them.  Of course, our legislators are worried that the funds from Florida's settlement will stop if the companies go bankrupt.
    In reality, the situation is this:  The "truth" campaign is working.  It is run by kids with the result that our kids are smoking less.  The tobacco companies will make fewer sales and our legislators fear that our tobacco settlement will be affected.  It is more important to keep Florida's children smoking.  Now does that make sense?
                                                        RITA ZEMLOCK

                       The country's biggest cigarette companies
                       engineered a legal coup when they offered $246
                       billion to settle lawsuits brought by 46 states,
                       said the lawyers now representing hundreds of
                       thousands of sick Florida smokers in a
                       precedent-setting class action.

                          "They've got all these states trying to protect
                       them now because the more cigarettes they
                       sell, the more money the states get," said
                       Susan Rosenblatt, one of the Miami lawyers
                       representing the smokers in the ongoing
                       class-action trial. "It's really a mind-boggling
                       situation, because our supposed allies have
                       joined with the defense," Rosenblatt said during
                       a hearing Monday in Miami-Dade Circuit Court.

                          The hearing came during a break in the trial,
                       which will resume on May 15, when the
                       six-person jury will return to hear evidence and
                       answer this question: How much should the
                       tobacco companies pay class members as
                       punishment for selling a dangerous product and
                       lying about its health risks?

                          A proposal now before the state Legislature
                       in Tallahassee that would protect the tobacco
                       industry from a huge punitive damage award
                       fueled Rosenblatt's ire.

                          Under a 1997 settlement of a Medicare case
                       brought against the cigarette makers by
                       Florida, they will pay the state $17 billion over
                       the next 30 years.

                          "And not one cent of that money goes to any
                       individual," said Stanley Rosenblatt, Susan's
                       husband and the other half of the legal team
                       representing Florida smokers.

                          Their case against the tobacco companies is
                       precedent-setting because any punitive or
                       compensatory damages the cigarette makers
                       actually pay out would be the first to go directly
                       to people who became sick from smoking, or
                       the relatives of those who died from tobacco
                       use.

                          Lawyers for the tobacco companies have
                       said the class could be as large as 500,000,
                       and the jury could award as much as $300
                       billion in punitive damages to the smokers,
                       effectively bankrupting the cigarette industry.

                         "The (Florida) Legislature and Attorney
                       General Bob Butterworth are now convinced
                       that if there is a huge punitive award in this
                       tobacco case, the state's money for roads is at
                       risk," said Susan Rosenblatt, referring to the
                       fact that most of the money from the 1997
                       settlement goes for general revenue purposes.

                          The tobacco companies also want to use the
                       settlement with the states to show the jury
                       hearing the class-action case that they have
                       changed their ways, Stanley Rosenblatt said.
                       "And we will show that they (tobacco) haven't
                       changed a thing," he said.

                          Fears the class action could interfere with
                       the state's settlement prompted a legislative
                       committee last week to recommend a change
                       in the law.

                          The committee wants to put a $50 million
                       cap on the amount tobacco companies would
                       have to put in a bond pending appeals of the
                       verdicts.

                          Under current law, the tobacco companies
                       would be required to post about 120 percent of
                       the damage amount in bond. The bond would
                       ensure there is money waiting for the sick
                       smokers after the appeals are over.

                          Several other states passed similar laws
                       earlier this month.

                          The Rosenblatts reminded the court that
                       state law does not allow damage awards so
                       high that they bankrupt a company. And urged
                       the judge not to give special favors to the
                       industry.

                          "This is an industry awash in cash," said
                       Stanley Rosenblatt. "Think about it: They were
                       willing to pay $246 billion to make this go
                       away. And Mr. Webb (the lead tobacco
                       attorney in the trial) can now quote the attorney
                       general of Florida."

                          "Now (the legislators and Butterworth) are
                       fighting against their own constituents to keep
                       the cash flow coming from the tobacco
                       industry," Rosenblatt said. "It would be
                       interesting to see if any of the (tobacco) CEOs
                       took any pay cuts since that settlement."

Florida's "leaders" and some private attorneys are trashing the rights of tobacco victims in order to protect their own cash flow. Dick Scruggs, who once said,  "I think  tobacco  is a menace that needs to be eradicated," is actively lobbying Florida's legislature to help tobacco companies continue to addict and kill in order to protect his own money.   Does it hurt that his brother-in-law is U.S. Senator Trent Lott, who already proclaimed that Congress could not take up legislation this year to regulate tobacco as a drug?

Florida is saying that it must keep tobacco from going broke in order to protect the Florida settlement money and in order not to lose gains from the settlement such as no tobacco ads on billboards, etc.  They too are willing to trash the tobacco victims, just like the tobacco companies.

At least four things are wrong with the picture in Florida:
    1.  It is immoral and puts them on the same level as the Columbian drug dealers.
    2.  The only way the money can continue to flow is if the tobacco companies continue to addict and kill Americans.
    3.  Florida law prevents punitive damages that would bankrupt a company.
    4.  They are legislators.  They can pass legislation that would codify the health gains made in the settlement.

If the Florida Governor and legislature act to protect tobacco, then concerned citizens may wish to re-evaluate any business dealings with Florida companies, including convention business, tourism, purchases of orange juice, etc.

Additionally, Philip Morris officials have stated they will present evidence to the Engle jury that PM has changed their company.  But PM's  documents reveal that the tobacco industry knew their products would addict and kill, they still know that, and they are still ready to continue marketing, advertising, and selling it.  They are only rearranging the public image furniture.

EXCERPTS from The St. Petersburg Times, April 12, 2000, writer Jo Becker; headlined: Tobacco's foes work to save it; Lawyers who battled cigarettemakers lobby to avert bankruptcies that might sink the legal settlement and their fees.

              Then comes the matter of the lawyers' own fees: Tobacco
              companies owe lawyers who fought them as much as
              $5-billion.

"I don't really want to be in the position of pulling for the
              tobacco industry," acknowledged lawyer Dick Scruggs, who
              helped dream up the first big lawsuit by a state to recover the
              taxpayer cost of treating sick smokers.

              The reason Scruggs and others made the trip to Tallahassee
              is a huge class-action lawsuit against tobacco companies,
              brought on behalf of sick Florida smokers.

              "Bankrupting these companies won't end smoking, it'll end
              controlled smoking," Scruggs said.

              But Scruggs said that while this scenario plays out, tobacco
              executives still may find it in their best interest to file for
              bankruptcy protection and pick the states where they do it.

              While companies cannot file bankruptcy simply to get out of
              paying punitive damages, Scruggs said some tobacco
              companies' finances already are so precarious that a judge,
              particularly in a tobacco-growing state, could find their
              arguments compelling.

              In Florida, lawmakers have much to sort out and not a lot of
              time to do it. The Legislature adjourns in less than a month.

              The debate here began with a proposal by Gov. Jeb Bush.

              Florida is owed $13-billion over the next 25 years. Bush
              wants to sell about $9-billion of that to investors, who would
              assume the risk that tobacco companies would actually make
              the payments. Under the plan, the state would receive
              $2.8-billion upfront, which it could then invest.

              The state's take from the settlement is tied to domestic
              cigarette sales. If the sales drop, so does the state's income.
              Selling off future tobacco revenue would allow lawmakers to
              pursue tough anti-smoking policies without worrying about a
              conflict of interest.

              Lawyers such as Rice and Scruggs think selling future
              revenues, called "securitization," is so smart they are trying to
              strike the same deal for fees they are owed.

              But they have encountered a problem that Florida also may
              face: No one on Wall Street is buying while the Miami case is
              pending.

              He [Rice] and Scruggs are pushing a measure that would limit the
              annual amount of punitive damages the tobacco companies
              would have to pay. One proposal caps that amount at
              $50-million a year.

              That doesn't sit well with lawmakers who are worried about
              limiting the payout to Florida residents who were genuinely
              harmed by tobacco companies.

              "You're the guys that got the choo-choo train rolling, and a lot
              of cabooses got on board," Campbell said to the lawyers.
              "Now you're saying to these folks, "Folks, you don't deserve
              your compensation, but we're going to get ours.' "

              Scruggs said there is a major difference between Florida's
              lawsuit against tobacco companies and the Miami lawsuit.
              Florida sued on behalf of taxpayers who had to pay to treat
              Medicaid patients with illnesses caused by smoking.
              Three-quarters of those taxpayers don't smoke, he said.

              "It's a question of culpability," Scruggs said. "I elevate the
              taxpayers of Florida above the smokers of Florida."
 

 Scruggs has a brother-in-law in the U.S. Senate - Trent Lott.  With "friends" of health like these, who needs enemies, one might ask.

EXCERPTS from The New York Times, April 10, 2000, writer Barry Meier; headlined: News Analysis:  Award In Miami Tobacco Suit Leads To Unexpected Twists

State lawmakers who recently vilified cigarette makers as profiteers hawking a deadly product are now pressing to protect industry profits so they can continue to receive lawsuit settlement payments worth $246 billion to the states.

Cigarette makers, who decried the state lawsuits as little more than legal shakedowns, have also changed their tune. Now, in arguments to jurors like those in the Miami case, they point to settlement concessions as evidence that they have agreed to change their practices and so don't need to be further punished.

Just a few years ago ... , Florida lawmakers removed legal roadblocks to the state's lawsuit against cigarette makers. The result: an industry settlement worth $13 billion over the next two decades.

Now the Florida Legislature is again considering the tobacco industry. But this time, it is reviewing ways to blunt the possible impact of a verdict in the Miami case on the ability of companies to make continuing settlement payments.

All of this has made for some awkward moments for state officials. Last year, Bob Butterworth, the Florida attorney general who filed the state's cigarette case, cheered when the Miami jury returned a verdict finding tobacco makers guilty of "outrageous conduct" in misrepresenting the dangers of their product, a finding that sets the stage for punitive damages.

But now with the case heading that way, Mr. Butterworth's cheers have apparently turned into cold sweat, and he is among those consulting with state lawmakers looking for ways to rein in the Miami case.

But while some lawmakers fret, others with a new stake in the tobacco industry's financial well-being said they were not very concerned about the Miami suit.Dick Scruggs, a lawyer from Mississippi who represented some 30 states in their action against producers, said he believed some legislation would soon emerge from the Florida Legislature to lower the case's possible impact.

Mr. Scruggs, whose law firm expects to receive nearly $1 billion in legal fees from the settlements, said he was told that Florida lawmakers were looking at capping the appeal bond a company has to post and limiting the amount of punitive damages that a defendant would have to pay out in any single year.

Told that it would be several weeks before the Miami jury took up the question of punitive damages, Mr. Scruggs appeared relieved.  "Good," he said. "That gives us a couple of weeks."

    Less than three years after Lawton Chiles
                 donned a gorilla costume and declared victory over Big
                 Tobacco, Florida lawmakers are looking for ways to protect
                 the same industry that they are still spending state money
                 to vilify.

                 With a $13 billion settlement in their pockets, a growing
                 number of lawmakers are calling for legislation that will
                 ensure that the money slated to flow from the industry into
                 the state for the next three decades continues to do so.

                 With those proceeds tied directly to industry profits and
                 plaintiffs' lined up to sue, a small but influential group of
                 legislators is saying it might be time to either insulate the
                 industry from devastating punitive damages, or take the
                 money and run.

                 ''The best thing I can tell you is that the attorneys who
                 represented us in this case are protecting their receipts,''
                 Sen. Locke Burt, a Republican from Ormond Beach, told
                 colleagues this week. ''The long-term prospects for the
                 tobacco companies in the United States is not good,
                 whether it is the (Miami) case or the next case.''

                 ''The (Miami) case is coming to a conclusion and all of a
                 sudden the state of Florida and other states are now
                 scurrying because the industry is going out to the press
                 and state legislators and saying, 'Folks, now you have to
                 save us because we are your cash cow,' '' said Sen. Skip
                 Campbell, a Democrat from Tamarac. ''I find that to be
                 offensive.''

                 Senate leaders have called for a joint legislative committee
                 to study the issue and return with a slate of
                 recommendations by April 20. A legislative proposal would
                 follow four days later.

                 The committee has been asked to explore a number of
                 options including buying insurance, passing legislation to
                 insulate companies from potentially devastating punitive
                 damage awards, or selling off some or all of the
                 settlement's future proceeds at present value.

EXCERPTS from The Sun-Sentinel, April 8, 2000, writer Terri Somers; headlined: Florida jury issues record award in tobacco case

     A jury in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court on
                       Friday ordered the nation's five largest cigarette makers to
                       pay two smokers with cancer, and the family of a third who
                       died last year, a record $12.7 million for medical bills and
                       the pain and suffering they found in cigarettes.

                       While the million-dollar judgments may seem like a windfall
                       to these three families, they could look paltry next to the
                       punitive damages that tobacco companies could be ordered
                       to pay to hundreds of thousands of ailing Florida smokers in
                       the next phase of the trial.

                       In that phase, the jury will consider how much money the
                       tobacco companies make before determining how much
                       they should pay as punishment for decades of lying to the
                       public about the hazards of smoking.

                       "Everyone should be happy with what happened," said
                       plaintiff Mary Farnan, a nurse from Ingles who was awarded
                       $2.85 million.

                       After the jury left the courtroom, Stanley and Susan
                       Rosenblatt, the lawyers representing the smokers, hugged
                       the plaintiffs and other supporters in the courtroom.

                       The lawyers declined to comment on the verdict.

                       Ralph DellaVecchia, husband of the late Angie
                       DellaVecchia, had tears in his eyes after the jury awarded
                       him and his son $4 million. "It's been a long time and so
                       hard since she died" last July, he said. Asked about the
                       smokers' chances for punitive damages, he said, "I think
                       they've got a good shot."

                       Plaintiff Amodeo, whose damage award may turn out to be
                       only symbolic, said, "I'm smiling, I'm smiling, I'm smiling."

                       On the verdict form, the jury answered "yes" to the question
                       of whether Amodeo missed a four-year deadline for filing
                       suit after learning his cancer stemmed from smoking. That
                       appears the panel meant to agree with tobacco's assertion
                       that Amodeo made the link when he was diagnosed with
                       cancer in 1987.

                       But farther down the same form, the jury gave Amodeo the
                       biggest single damage award of $5.8 million.

                       When Rosenblatt asked the judge to clarify which jury
                       determination would stand -- that Amodeo gets no award for
                       filing too late, or that he gets the money -- Kaye said he
                       would resolve that later.

                       Martin Feldman, an analyst who follows tobacco stocks for
                       Salomon Smith Barney, said the verdict indicates "the jury
                       is going to go in there with some tough attitudes about
                       tobacco" during the punitive-damage phase.

     "In the punitive stage the jury is going to look at just how
                       fraudulent tobacco companies have been toward these
                       smokers and this is where they are really going to get
                       whacked," said Joseph Daly, a professor at Hamline
                       University Law School in Minnesota.

                       Philip Morris intends to present a substantial defense to the
                       claim for punitive damages, demonstrating to the
                       six-member jury how the company has changed the way it
                       does business, said William S. Ohlemeyer, a lawyer for the
                       company.

                       And Morris is considering how quickly to ask an appellate
                       court to review the trial procedure that led to these verdicts,
                       he said.

                       Farnan, who began smoking at 11 and has had tumors
                       removed from both her lungs and her brain, was 20 percent
                       responsible for her illness, the jury ruled.

                       Amodeo, an Orlando clockmaker, began smoking at 14 and
                       has been unable to eat or drink since he throat cancer was
                       diagnosed 12 years ago, was 25 percent responsible for his
                       illness. And Angie DellaVecchia, the housewife from New
                       Port Richey who died from lung and brain cancer two weeks
                       after a jury verdict in the trial's first phase, was 15 percent
                       responsible for her illness, according to the jury. She started
                       smoking when she was 11.

                       The percentages seemed to be guided by evidence on which
                       brands each of the individuals smoked and for how long.
                       The finding that tobacco companies were more than
                       50 percent responsible for each of the plaintiff's illnesses
                       showed the smokers largely overcame the personal choice
                       defense that has worked so well for the tobacco industry in
                       previous court challenges.

                       Nationwide, juries have awarded damages to individual
                       smokers only six times. Three verdicts were overturned, two
                       are on appeal, and one was returned last month with a
                       then-record $1.72 million compensatory award to a single
                       smoker. That smoker and her husband also were awarded
                       $10 million each in punitive damages.

                       However, the industry has yet to pay anything in an
                       individual smoker's case. It has started paying out $246
                       billion in settlements with the states.

      The two women and four men deciding this case began
                       hearing testimony 18 months ago. Last July, after nine
                      months of trial, the panel ruled the industry fraudulently
                       conspired to produce a dangerous, addictive product that
                       caused 29 illnesses, including several types of
                       cancer.

                       "In and of itself, the compensatory award is not damaging
                       because it is a relatively low amount that can be absorbed
                       by the companies," said Paul Gallagher, a lawyer with the
                       Washington, D.C., firm of Cohen, Milstein, Hausfield & Toll,
                       which has successfully brought huge cases against
                       corporate giants such as Texaco and Exxon.

                       "But it sets the table for the punitive award. And the second
                       shoe to drop may be a Paul Bunyan-size shoe," he said.

                       The verdict shows that the jury accepted almost the full
                       value of the plaintiff's theory, Gallagher said. And it almost
                       reached the full $13.2 million Rosenblatt had asked for in
                       damages.

                       Fear of a huge award prompted several states, including
                       Florida, to consider or approve legislation that would protect
                       the tobacco industry from a crippling award by setting a cap
                       of $25 million to $100 million on the amount a company has
                       to post as bond before it can pursue an appeal.

                       And other states, such as Florida, are worried about their
                       share of the $246 billion settlement they reached with
                       tobacco in an unrelated case.

                       None of that money is going to individual smokers, as it is in
                       this class-action case, the first statewide case to ever make
                       it to a jury.

                       Clark Freshman, a University of Miami law professor who
                       has watched the case closely, said this verdict is a tribute to
                       class actions.

                       The case has already taken 18 months, but if the smokers'
                       cases had been tried individually it could have taken several
                       years and "been a tremendous waste of judicial resources."

EXCERPTS from Bloomberg, April 7, 2000, writers William McQuillen and Lawrence Viele; headlined: Tobacco Firms Told to Pay Florida Smokers $12.7 Mln

A Miami jury told Philip Morris Cos. and other cigarette makers to pay $12.7 million to two cancer-stricken smokers and the family of a third, setting the stage for class-action punitive damages that could run into the billions.

The six-person jury next will determine whether possibly
hundreds of thousands of Florida smokers should share in a
punitive award. While the industry has said a huge punitive
verdict could bring bankruptcies, Florida law would prevent that.

Philip Morris, the sixth-most actively traded stock, fell
7/16 to 22 1/2 on the New York Stock Exchange; R.J. Reynolds fell 1/16 to 20.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index of tobacco stocks has
declined 60 percent in value since November 1998 ...

Judge Kaye scheduled a meeting Monday with lawyers to discuss the next step in the case.

Even if reduced, today's verdicts exceed compensatory awards in cases brought by individual smokers. Two San Francisco juries in the last two years have awarded sick smokers $1.72 million and $1.5 million in compensatory damages. Those awards and punitive  judgments in the cases have been appealed by tobacco companies.

 A Portland, Oregon, jury in 1999 awarded survivors of a dead smoker $1.23 million in compensatory damages. That judgment and a $79.5 million punitive damage verdict in the case are on appeal.

NEWS RELEASES - GROUPS OPPOSING FLORIDA'S
            LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS
  Action on Smoking and Health, on its web site
    Virginia GASP on this web site
    Tobacco Products Liability Project
    Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids
    Florida Tri-Agency
     GASP of Florida
    American Cancer Society

NEWS RELEASE - GASP of Florida says FLORIDA legislature is forgetting tobacco's victims, haggling over drug money

Immediate Release, April 13, 2000
FROM:  GASP of Florida, Group Against Smoker's Pollution
Contact:  Rita Zemlock, Executive Director, 305-935-0804

GASP of Florida today announced its opposition to efforts by  the Florida legislature to save tobacco companies while sacrificing the rights of tobacco's victims.

Rita Zemlock, Executive Director of GASP of Florida, has attended many sessions of the Engle trial, in recess until May 15th.  "I can't believe that the same state that started the 'Truth' campaign, which has helped reduce youth smoking, is now saying they are willing to make kids smoke," Zemlock
said.  "That's exactly what this means.  The only way on earth that this company can continue to survive is by luring young people into smoking, and hooking them.  How can any Florida legislator, and this goes for Governor Bush as well, in good conscience support this kind of legislation?  It puts them in the position of being partners with a drug dealer.  That's all this is - haggling over drug money."

Zemlock continued, "The state wants its money, Dick Scruggs wants his money, and so they're willing to toss the rights of consumers into the trash.  These tobacco victims were addicted by a company that knew its product was addictive, knew it could kill, but marketed it anyway.  The tobacco
companies are nothing more than legalized drug pushers."

"The tobacco victims are in the midst of having their day in court, and suddenly Florida is ready to change the law, ready to pull the rug out from under them.  This only makes sense for those who care more about money than lives.  And that's exactly the definition of the tobacco industry," Zemlock said.

"And the irony," Zemlock added, "is that if Florida manages to reduce teen smoking, the money is also reduced anyway.  As for the fears about losing the health advances we achieved under the leadership of Governor Chiles, GASP urges the legislators to spend time writing up some legislation to codify those advances into the law."

Contact: Roger Salazar, 202-661-5710, of the American Cancer Society
              Web Site: http://www.cancer.org

WASHINGTON, April 12 / U.S. Newswire / -- The American Cancer
Society, America's largest voluntary health organization, today
condemned efforts to provide special protection to big tobacco. The
Society cited moves by legislators in Florida, North Carolina,
Georgia, Virginia and Kentucky to shield the tobacco industry from
punitive damages in the Engle class action tobacco lawsuit in
Florida.

"Punitive damages are intended to punish an individual or entity
for their egregious behavior, and prevent them from engaging in that
behavior in the future," said John R. Seffrin, Ph.D., chief executive
officer for the American Cancer Society. "The American Cancer Society
opposes any legislation or measure that would change the rules and
grant special legal protections to the same tobacco companies that
have been found guilty of deceiving the public about the dangers of
smoking."

"While we are pleased with the jury's compensatory damages award
in this case, we will be keeping a close eye on the next phase of the
trial," added Dr. Seffrin. "The tobacco industry's extreme and
outrageous behavior has compromised the health of millions of
Americans. The Supreme Court recently concluded that while the FDA
does not currently have the authority to regulate tobacco products,
tobacco use among children 'poses perhaps the greatest public health
risk in America.' Until Congress acts, the courts are the only
recourse available to keep the tobacco industry's behavior in check."

Tobacco use is the number one preventable cause of death in
America, killing nearly 430,000 people each year. Thirty percent of
all cancer cases are attributable to tobacco use. More than $50
billion is spent in health care costs each year to treat smokers
suffering from cardiovascular disease, cancer and lung disease and
other related ailments.

For Immediate Release                April 6, 2000
Contact: Mark Gottlieb 1-800-387-7848
 

$300 BILLION PUNITIVE DAMAGES AWARD FIGURE IS
A TOBACCO INDUSTRY RUSE DESIGNED TO SCARE
STATES INTO ENACTING SPECIAL LEGAL PROTECTIONS.

FLORIDA LEGISLATURE CAN EASILY PROTECT SETTLEMENT
FUNDS WITHOUT SHIELDING BIG TOBACCO, SAYS TPLP.

Boston - For several weeks, a furor has been building in Florida and beyond over the possibility of a Miami jury awarding lump sum punitive damages of $300 billion in the class action trial known as "Engle."  This fantastic figure comes from one source: Big Tobacco's top Florida attorney Dan Webb.  In arguing against the lump sum punitive damages trial plan to the Third District Court of Appeals last October 20th, Webb said that a $300 billion award, "would destroy any industry."  The appeals court and the Florida Supreme Court rejected that appeal and let the lump sum punitive damages trial plan stand.

"Webb, a top attorney for an industry chock full of legal talent, must have known that Florida law prohibits punitive damages that exceed the industry's net worth of about $100 billion," said Northeastern University Law Professor Richard Daynard, who is Chair of the Tobacco Products Liability Project.  In any case where it has come up, Florida courts have ruled that punitive damages "may properly punish each wrongdoer by exacting from his pocketbook a sum of money which, according to his financial ability, will hurt, but not bankrupt."  (e.g., Bould v. Touchette, 349 So.2d 1181 (Fla. 1977)).

Webb's dubious contention is the industry's equivalent of shouting "FIRE" in a crowded theater. Panic has ensued and the rights of sick smokers and their survivors are being trampled.  A panicky Florida attorney general, Bob Butterworth, seems to have lost his bearings.

Butterworth issued an opinion to the Legislature last week urging action on a bill to delay any punitive damages award in the Engle case until after each claim of an estimated half million sick Florida smokers has been separately adjudicated over the next 10-20 years or more.  The action is needed, purportedly, to protect tobacco industry settlement payments to the state of Florida should the companies seek bankruptcy protection.

There are 2 problems with this logic: 1) under Florida law, punitive damages cannot bankrupt a defendant, and 2) As suggested recently by Credit Lyonnais Securities, Florida could easily protect and maintain settlement revenues by passing a contingent cigarette excise tax that would take effect only if the industry's payments to the state were interrupted.  Importantly, excise taxes are not affected by bankruptcy protection.  Florida could also securitize their settlement as a bond issue, thereby breaking the state's ties to Big Tobacco's future.

Daynard notes that, "it appears this is simply an attempt by the tobacco companies to scare state governments into granting them special legal protections.  Instead of falling for this trick, Florida should let the jury that has been hearing this case for more than a year and a half finish its work and let justice take its course."

CAMPAIGN for TOBACCO FREE KIDS announces opposition to Florida Tobacco Shield:

For Immediate Release                   Contact: Vince Willmore/Joel Spivak
April 4, 2000                                                           202-296-5469

Statement By Matthew L. Myers, President
    CAMPAIGN FOR TOBACCO-FREE KIDS
Regarding Consideration by the Florida Legislature of a Proposal to Protect the Tobacco Industry from Punitive Damages in the Engle Case

Washington, D.C. (April 4, 2000) - The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids opposes any effort in the Florida Legislature to change the rules in the middle of the Engle trial and grant special legal protection to cigarette companies that have been found guilty of lying about the health risks and addictiveness of smoking.

The proposed legislation is not needed to protect the state or its taxpayers.  But it would block Florida citizens who are victims of established cigarette company wrongdoing from receiving proper compensation.  The only winners would be the cigarette companies.

Last year, the Engle jury found the cigarette companies guilty of widespread wrongdoing.  The jury is now determining whether the three named representatives of a class of Florida smokers are entitled to receive compensatory damages.  If the jury awards compensatory damages to the class representatives, the court has ruled that the same jury should then decide if the cigarette companies must pay punitive damages to all members of the class.  The proposed legislation would reverse this ruling and require that individual compensatory damages for each smoker be determined before punitive damages could be assessed for that smoker, a process that could take years.

Based on a legal opinion by Florida?s Attorney General, Robert A. Butterworth, proponents of the legislation claim that the judge?s legal ruling on punitive damages was wrong. Whether or not this is correct, it is wrong for the Florida legislature to take this case out of the hands of the jury and the Florida judicial system in order to protect the cigarette companies.  Judicial procedures are already in place to appeal and correct court rulings that do not follow existing laws.  And Florida certainly does not need any special new laws to protect and aid the cigarette companies.

Accordingly, the proposed legislation is unnecessary and excessive.  It represents the worst form of special interest politics and should be rejected.

The Florida Coalition on Smoking OR Health Issues a Position on Engle Class Action Tobacco Suit

MIAMI, April 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is a letter sent to Governor Jeb Bush regarding the Florida Coalition on Smoking OR Health position on legislation and proposals that affect the punitive damage stage of the Engle class action tobacco suit:

    April 12, 2000

    Attn: Carol Licko
    The Honorable Jeb Bush
    Governor of Florida

Dear Governor Bush:
We are writing to you to express our concern over proposals that have been proffered by a number of public officials that would provide protections to the tobacco industry in the Engle class action tobacco suit.

We realize that the state of Florida benefits financially from the annual tobacco settlement payments.  However, the tobacco industry has been found guilty in a court of law and the courts should be allowed to handle this phase without interference from the legislature. Enclosed is our position, which
addresses our concerns regarding proposals to protect the tobacco industry. We would be deeply disappointed if the Florida Legislature enacted new legislation to deny victims their rights and at the same time grant additional rights to those that have already been found guilty of wrong doing.

The proposals to protect the tobacco industry are predicated on exaggerated fears of tobacco industry bankruptcy. Many groups and organizations have already attested to the fact that it is extremely unlikely that the tobacco industry will go bankrupt. Tobacco analysts on Wall Street, the plaintiff attorneys in the Engle suit, and health groups have all said that tobacco industry bankruptcy
is very unlikely. In fact, tobacco industry representatives have stated publicly that they do not fear bankruptcy. We have also enclosed some information that addresses the unfounded fears of tobacco industry bankruptcy.

The tobacco industry has obviously been fueling concerns about bankruptcy. Their motivation is obviously to reduce the amount of the appeal bond they may have to post and to significantly reduce and delay any punitive damage award that may be handed down.

Governor Bush, we hope you will keep our concerns in mind. We respectfully ask you to veto any legislation that comes to your desk that would in any way intervene in the Engle class action tobacco suit.

    Sincerely,
    Eliza Perry, R.N.         William B. Blanchard, MD       Larry W. Serlo,
    CPA
    Chairman of the Board     President                      President
    American Cancer Society,  American Heart Association,    American Lung
    Florida Division          Florida/Puerto Rico Affiliate  Association of
                                                             Florida, Inc.

     cc:  Attorney General, Robert A. Butterworth
          Senate President, Toni Jennings
     Speaker of the House, John Thrasher
          Members of the Florida Legislature
 

    Contact:
    Ralph DeVitto, American Cancer Society, 813-785-3767
    Brian Gilpin, American Heart Association, 727-570-8809
    Brenda Olsen, American Lung Association, 850-386-2065
 

          Position of the Tri-Agency Coalition on Smoking OR Health
      On legislation and proposals that affect the punitive damage stage
                    Of the Engle class action tobacco suit

The Tri-Agency Coalition is opposed to any legislation or proposal that would in any way limit or prevent the Engle class action tobacco suit from proceeding expeditiously to the punitive damage stage. Florida's Legislature should not be pushing for special protections that would shelter the tobacco industry, but should instead focus on protecting the health of their citizens from the predatory practices of Big Tobacco. The Engle case should continue without the burden of any new
legislation that would only delay or impede due process for the victims of the tobacco industry.

The Engle class action lawsuit is the first of its kind to ever go to trial. The lawsuit was first filed in 1994 on behalf of an estimated 500,000 sick Florida smokers. The jury has already decided that the tobacco companies are guilty of deceiving the public about the addictive and harmful effects of cigarettes and has awarded the plaintiffs $12.7 million in compensatory damages. The jury will decide on punitive damages in the next phase of the trial.

The plaintiff attorneys in the Engle case have stated that they have no intention of requesting punitive damages that could bankrupt the industry. In fact, Florida law does not permit them to do so.  Punitive damages are to punish and deter, not to bankrupt.

The purpose of punitive damages is to punish an individual or entity for their egregious behavior, and to try to prevent them from engaging in that behavior in the future. Since the Supreme Court recently decided that the FDA does not have the authority to regulate tobacco products, the courts are the only recourse available to keep the tobacco industry's behavior in check.

We now know that the tobacco industry deceived the public about the dangers of smoking, hid research results, and aggressively marketed their product to children. The tobacco industry's extreme and outrageous behavior has compromised the health of millions of Americans.

Tobacco use is the number one preventable cause of death in Florida, killing nearly 30,000 people in Florida each year. More than $4.6 billion is spent in health care costs each year in Florida to treat smokers suffering from cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, lung disease, and other related ailments.

The Facts on Tobacco Industry Bankruptcy Fears

The tobacco industry has been fueling fears of bankruptcy in order to ease the punitive damages they may have to pay in the Engle class action tobacco suit. However, the facts tell a very different story on the likelihood of bankruptcy.

Fact: There are over 45 million addicted smokers in the U.S. alone. With that many dedicated customers, the tobacco industry will not be going away for a long time.

Fact: The risk of tobacco industry bankruptcy has been greatly exaggerated. Robert Larkins, a managing director with Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, stated, "The role of the bankruptcy bogeyman in any potential financing has been greatly exaggerated. All of the tobacco companies are solidly investment-grade.'' (The Bond Buyer, July 1, 1999, p. 48)

Fact: Representatives from the tobacco industry have stated publicly that there is no risk of bankruptcy   "We certainly have no intention of going bankrupt.'' Steven Parrish, senior vice president for Philip Morris on CBS News' Face the Nation on March 26, 2000.

Fact: Litigation against the tobacco industry in Florida cannot force bankruptcy. Florida law prohibits a damage award so high that it puts a company out of business.

Fact: The plaintiff attorneys in the Engle class action tobacco suit have stated that they have no intention of asking for punitive damages that would bankrupt the tobacco industry.

Fact: The tobacco industry is afraid of a large punitive damage award, but they aren't afraid of bankruptcy.  "Richard Daynard, law professor at Northeastern University and chair of the Tobacco Products Liability Project, believes the bankruptcy scenario is a ruse drummed up by tobacco's legal team to scare states into enacting special legal protections before the Miami jury sets punitive
damages.'' (Palm Beach Post, April 10, 2000)

Fact: The tobacco companies are quite healthy despite all the doom and gloom. Philip Morris alone pays its shareholders $4.5 billion in dividends a year. Last year they saw their domestic tobacco sales soar to $19.5 billion from $15.3 billion.

SOURCE: American Heart Association

The Engle trial is a case of true smokers' rights.
Smokers have brought suit against tobacco companies, holding them accountable for tobacco company actions in knowingly addicting and harming and indeed killing smokers.  One of the plaintiffs has already died since the trial began about 18 months ago.

The jury in Phase 1 of this trial found the tobacco industry liable for deceiving the public about the addictive and lethal nature of tobacco products.

Now in Phase 2, the jury is considering compensatory damages for the plaintiffs.

Then they would move to consideration of punitive