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• Tobacco Growers, Most Defendants, Reach Deal 

Several hundred thousand tobacco growers reached a partial settlement with most defendants in a price-fixing case on Friday that will boost growers' profits by $1 billion over time, lawyers for the tobacco growers said.

The settlement received preliminary court approval on Friday, and is subject to its final approval, said Philip Morris USA, one of the defendants.

The suit, known as DeLoach v. Philip Morris, was filed in 2000 and alleged the defendants violated antitrust laws by bid rigging at tobacco auctions since before 1996, as well as conspiring to undermine the tobacco quota and price support program administered by the federal government. . .

R.J. Reynolds was the sole defendant that did not join the settlement, and the growers' case against it is set to go to trial in April 2004.

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Universal: Class-Action Appeal Denied 

Tobacco and lumber company Universal Corp. on Thursday said the petition by it and other defendants seeking the appeal of class-action status in a tobacco auction antitrust suit has been denied.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit denied the petition on Wednesday, Universal said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Richmond, Virginia-based Universal did not give a reason for the denial in the filing.

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