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Tobacco Co.'s Attempt to Overturn $10B Light Cigarette Verdict Begins in IL Supreme Court [11/10-1]
Excerpts from: High court change adds uncertainty to Altria suit
By Ameet Sachdev The Chicago Tribune [11/10/04]
The election of a new judge to the state Supreme Court adds another element of uncertainty to a widely watched lawsuit that weighs heavily on the future of Altria Group Inc., the world's largest tobacco company.
The high court will hear oral arguments Wednesday on the company's attempt to overturn a $10.1 billion verdict last year that concluded it misled smokers by suggesting that "light" cigarettes were safer than regular varieties.
Newly elected Lloyd Karmeier, a Washington County Circuit judge, will not be on the bench for the hearing because he will not be sworn in until Dec. 6. But the case likely will not be decided before he joins the bench. That leaves open the question of whether Karmeier will weigh in on the matter.
If he decides to opt out of the case, Philip Morris would have the burden of winning over four of the five remaining judges to reverse the lower court's ruling. If the company cannot garner four votes, court precedent suggests that the verdict would stand.
Normally Karmeier's absence would leave six justices to decide the matter, but Justice Robert Thomas has chosen not to participate in the case because of a conflict of interest.
Court rules allow sitting justices to participate in all pending cases, said court spokesman Joseph Tybor. A spokesman for Karmeier said the judge has not determined if he will participate in the case, which involves Altria's U.S. tobacco unit, Philip Morris USA. After joining the bench, he plans to discuss pending cases with the other justices and then make up his mind, the spokesman said.
Court observers are betting that Karmeier will not stand aside because of the significance of the case. Karmeier, a Republican, replaces Philip Rarick, a Democrat whose term will expire in December. The court now has four Democrats and three Republicans.
The Illinois suit is one of three pending cases that may be critical to Altria's future.
In Florida, the state Supreme Court is reconsidering a decision that threw out a record $145 billion verdict against Philip Morris USA and other U.S. tobacco companies on behalf of 700,000 Florida smokers. A state appellate court ruled that the cases had to be tried individually.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Justice Department, in a racketeering trial that began in September, is seeking a record $280 billion from tobacco companies, accusing them of misleading the public about the dangers of smoking.
In the Illinois case, a judge in Downstate Madison County ordered Philip Morris to pay $7.1 billion in compensatory damages to 1.1 million Illinois consumers who purchased Marlboro Lights and Cambridge Lights in recent decades.
He also ordered the company to pay $3 billion in punitive damages to Illinois and earmarked $1.75 billion for attorneys' fees.
The verdict was so controversial that the Supreme Court fast-tracked the case on appeal, allowing Philip Morris to bypass the intermediate appellate court.
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