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Action on Smoking and Health
A National Legal-Action Antismoking Organization Entirely Supported by Tax-Deductible Contributions
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Judge Rejects BAT's Bid to Exclude Documents in $280B Racketeering Case [08/11-1]
Excerpts from: U.S. judge denies BAT's bid to exclude documents
Reuters [08/10/04]
The judge overseeing the U.S. government's $280 billion racketeering case against major tobacco companies on Tuesday rejected a bid by a British American Tobacco Plc BATS.L unit to keep some disputed documents out of the trial.
U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler denied a motion by British American Tobacco Investments Ltd that would have excluded evidence from BAT's Australian subsidiary about the company's document retention policy.
In seeking to exclude them from the trial, the company had argued the documents are not relevant to the charges.
Justice Department lawyers have long sought a key memorandum from the Australian unit that relates to BAT's document retention policy. But the company has resisted -- arguing that it was privileged.
The question of whether BAT should be forced to turn over the documents is currently being reviewed by a federal appeals court. Trial of the case is scheduled to start in September.
The racketeering lawsuit, filed by the Clinton administration in 1999, accuses British American Tobacco and other companies of deliberately misleading the public about the risks of smoking in a conspiracy going back to the 1950s.
Also targeted in the lawsuit are Philip Morris USA and Altria; Loews Corp.'s LTR.N Lorillard Tobacco unit, which has a tracking stock, Carolina Group CG.N ; Vector Group Ltd.'s VGR.N Liggett Group; and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, the main unit of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings Inc. A new parent company, Reynolds American Inc. RAI.N , was formed on July 30 after British American Tobacco and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings combined their U.S. tobacco operations.
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