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• USCA1 Opinion: UNITED SENIORS ASSOCIATION v. PHILIP MORRIS USA, et. al. 

We affirm the judgment of dismissal, albeit on another ground. . . .

As we conclude that United Seniors failed to establish Article III standing to bring an action under MSP § 1395y(b)(3)(A), we lack the requisite subject matter jurisdiction to reach the district court's determination on the merits. . . .

Accordingly,

The appeal is hereby dismissed.

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• Appeals court upholds dismissal of tobacco lawsuit 

United Seniors Association, based in Purcellville, Virginia, sued Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds and other tobacco companies in 2005, alleging they intentionally hid cigarettes' addictive properties.

The group said the companies should be held liable for Medicare's expenditures since August 1999 to treat illnesses attributable to smoking.

U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns dismissed the lawsuit last August.

Today, the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston upheld that dismissal.

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Seniors Group Girds for Next Round in Fight to Recover Billions From Tobacco Companies for Taxpayers 

Late yesterday, United Seniors Association, Inc. filed notice that it will appeal the August 28 dismissal by U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns in Boston of its lawsuit against American tobacco companies seeking recovery of damages on behalf of the Medicare program and the Treasury of the United States. United Seniors Association (USA) says its appeal will rely on a decisive finding of facts establishing tobacco companies' liability rendered in a judgment in a separate U.S. racketeering case issued a few days before Judge Stearns' decision. . . .

In dismissing the USA suit, Judge Stearns said a primary payers' responsibility must first be demonstrated by other means before a Medicare as Secondary Payer (MSP) suit can be brought and damages recovered. A week before Judge Stearns' decision, however, a landmark judgment in a separate U.S. racketeering case against tobacco companies, rendered after a nine month trial by Federal Judge Gladys Kessler in the U.S. District Court in Washington, DC, set out detailed, exhaustive fact findings that tobacco companies intentionally concealed, denied and manipulated the addictive properties of their cigarettes by suppressing research, destroying documents and manipulating nicotine levels to increase and perpetuate addition.

"While we have the utmost respect for Judge Stearns, this new development completely satisfies the standard Judge Stearns used to dismiss this case, and so his ruling should be reversed and USA given its day in court,"

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• Seniors Group Girds for Next Round in Fight to Recover Billions From Tobacco Companies for Taxpayers 

Late yesterday, United Seniors Association, Inc. filed notice that it will appeal the August 28 dismissal by U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns in Boston of its lawsuit against American tobacco companies seeking recovery of damages on behalf of the Medicare program and the Treasury of the United States. United Seniors Association (USA) says its appeal will rely on a decisive finding of facts establishing tobacco companies' liability rendered in a judgment in a separate U.S. racketeering case issued a few days before Judge Stearns' decision.

The civil lawsuit, United Seniors Association, Inc. v. Philip Morris USA, et al, was filed August 4, 2005 under the authority of the "private attorneys general" provisions of the Medicare as Secondary Payer Act, a U.S. statute requiring Medicare to be repaid for healthcare expenses arising from work related accidents, medical malpractice, wrongdoing and other situations in which another party (the "primary payer") is determined to be responsible. The USA suit seeks recovery of at least $70 billion for federal taxpayers . . .

"While we have the utmost respect for Judge Stearns, this new development completely satisfies the standard Judge Stearns used to dismiss this case, and so his ruling should be reversed and USA given its day in court," explained Charlie Jarvis, chairman and chief executive of USA, a Virginia based conservative group advocating free-market solutions and defending taxpayers' rights. "By demonstrating factually that the tobacco industry defrauded the public and perpetrated a 'battery' upon smokers by intentionally deceiving them about the addictive properties of nicotine and adjusting the substance levels to maximize the number of addicts, Judge Kessler's judgment clearly demonstrates tobacco companies' responsibility to pay back Medicare and taxpayers for the expenses to treat tobacco related illnesses."

In her decision, Judge Kessler further described the tobacco companies as "an industry that survives, and profits, from selling a highly addictive product which causes diseases that lead to a staggering number of deaths per year, an immeasurable amount of human suffering and economic loss, and a profound burden on our national healthcare system."

Under the principle of "collateral estoppel," when an issue of ultimate fact has been determined against a party by a valid court judgment, that issue cannot again be litigated by the same party in future litigation. Therefore, Mr. Jarvis says, the underlying facts in USA's federal civil suit against the tobacco companies have been established beyond challenge by Judge Kessler's judgment in the earlier federal civil suit against the same defendants.

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• Senior citizens group to appeal dismissal of tobacco lawsuit  

A lobbying group for senior citizens plans to appeal the dismissal of a lawsuit that seeks to force tobacco companies to pay at least $70 billion spent by Medicare on smoking-related illnesses.

The lawsuit filed last year by United Seniors Association Inc. was dismissed last week by a federal judge. The group filed notice Thursday that it will appeal.

United Seniors, based in Purcellville, Va., sued big tobacco companies, alleging they intentionally hid cigarettes' addictive properties and should be held liable for Medicare's expenditures since August 1999 to treat illnesses attributable to smoking.

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• Judge dismisses lawsuit against tobacco companies 

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by a group trying to force tobacco companies, including three based in North Carolina, to pay at least $60 billion spent by Medicare on smoking-related illnesses.

United Seniors Association Inc., a Virginia-based lobbying group for senior citizens, sued the companies last year, claiming they intentionally hid cigarettes' addictive properties and should be held liable for Medicare's expenditures since August 1999 to treat illnesses attributable to smoking.

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• Federal Court Dismisses Third-Party Payer Suit Against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company/Industry 

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company is pleased that a Federal District Court in Massachusetts has dismissed a lawsuit brought against the company and other tobacco manufacturers by United Seniors Association, Inc. (United Seniors). This is the fourth federal court to dismiss claims against the tobacco industry under the Medicare as a Secondary Payer law.

United Seniors was seeking to recover medical expense reimbursements made by Medicare since Aug. 4, 1999, to treat Medicare recipients for illnesses attributable to cigarette smoking.

"This ruling confirms yet again that these types of lawsuits simply lack merit," says Martin L. Holton III, deputy general counsel for litigation at R.J. Reynolds.

In his ruling, Judge Richard G. Stearns stated: "This case is a reprise of claims against the tobacco industry brought by the federal government in the late 1990's seeking to recoup Medicare costs incurred in treating smoking- related illnesses ... These efforts by the government came largely to naught, with most courts rejecting the government's various theories of tobacco company liability."

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• Tobacco companies ask judge to dismiss Medicare lawsuit 

Cigarette makers asked a federal judge Wednesday to dismiss a lawsuit by a group seeking to recover at least $60 billion spent by Medicare on smoking-related illnesses.

United Seniors Association Inc., a Virginia-based lobbying group for senior citizens, sued six tobacco companies last year, claiming they intentionally concealed the addictive properties of their cigarettes and should be held liable for Medicare's expenditures to treat illnesses such as lung cancer and emphysema.

The suit seeks to force the tobacco companies to reimburse Medicare - the health-insurance plan for the elderly and disabled - for the money it has spent on smoking-related illnesses since 1999. . . .

Attorneys for the tobacco companies argue that United Seniors has no legal standing to sue because it is not claiming any injury of its own, but instead seeking to recover alleged losses by the federal government under the Medicare program.

But Charlie Jarvis, chairman and chief executive of United Seniors, said that under a provision of the Medicare as Secondary Payer law, private citizens can seek to recover government losses on behalf of taxpayers.

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