R.J. Reynolds Tobacco to appeal decision in Scott case
May 21 2004 - 4:23PM
PR Newswire (US)
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco to appeal decision in Scott case
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., May 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- R.J. Reynolds
Tobacco Company (RJRT) announced that it will appeal today's
decision in the Scott class action trial in Louisiana. The jury
decided that the cost of a five-to-10 year stop-smoking program
would be $592 million. The case was filed against tobacco companies
including RJRT on behalf of virtually all current and former
smokers in Louisiana as of May 24, 1996, who might desire medical
monitoring and/or assistance with quitting smoking. This decision
concluded the second phase of the Scott trial. In Phase I, the jury
rejected a claim that the industry pay for a medical-monitoring
program. Daniel Donahue, senior vice president and deputy general
counsel for RJRT, says, "By moving on to Phase II, the judge tried
damages -- the cost of such a smoking cessation program -- before
any liability issues were determined in the case. We'll certainly
appeal. "One clear example of the many contradictions and errors in
this case can be seen in the judge's instructions to the jury.
First, he instructed the jury that the tobacco companies'
cigarettes 'exposed the class ... to significant levels of
substances proven hazardous to human health.' "Then, in the same
jury instruction," Donahue adds, "the judge states, 'you may not
require defendants to provide cessation assistance simply because
defendants make and sell cigarettes that are dangerous and
addictive.' By doing that, the judge erroneously allowed the jury
to award substantial damages for doing what he said the tobacco
companies had a perfect right to do -- sell a legal product."
Defendants in the case included: R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company;
Philip Morris Inc.; Brown and Williamson Tobacco Co. and Lorillard
Tobacco Co. The case was tried in the Civil District Court for the
Parish of Orleans in Louisiana. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
(RJRT) is a wholly owned subsidiary of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco
Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:RJR). R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company is the
second-largest tobacco company in the United States, manufacturing
about one of every four cigarettes sold in the United States.
Reynolds Tobacco's product line includes four of the nation's 10
best-selling cigarette brands: Camel, Winston, Salem and Doral. For
more information about RJRT, visit the company's web site at
http://www.rjrt.com/ . DATASOURCE: R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
CONTACT: Ellen Wallace of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company,
+1-336-741-6694 Web site: http://www.rjrt.com/
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