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South Carolina Court Rejects Class Certification 

``The court reached its decision by recognizing that these cases are truly individual in nature,'' said William S. Ohlemeyer, Philip Morris vice president and associate general counsel. ``Everyone, every smoker, is unique and all of these claims simply cannot be resolved in a single case or a single trial.''

``The record reveals that the deposed plaintiffs smoked different brands of cigarettes, commenced smoking for different reasons, smoked varying amounts and became aware of information about the harmful effects of smoking at different times,'' said Judge Seymour in explaining why the proposed class action would actually require the jury to determine liability on a smoker-by-smoker basis.

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