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• R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company - Tobacco Issues - Case Backgrounders View 

ELAINE CONLEY, et al.,

Plaintiffs,

v.

R.J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO CO. and PHILIP MORRIS INCORPORATED,

Defendants. . .

TRIAL SITE

The case is being tried in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (in Oakland).

JUDGE

The Honorable Saundra B. Armstrong is the trial judge.

EXPECTED DURATION

Jury selection began Dec. 6, 2002. Opening arguments were scheduled to begin Dec. 9, 2002, and the trial is expected to last about three or four weeks. . . .

The plaintiffs allege that Frank White’s use of the defendants’ cigarettes caused him to develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle, which resulted in Mr. White’s death. . .

Although the companies agree that cardiomyopathy caused Mr. White’s death, they submit that his cardiomyopathy was not smoking related. With regard to this issue, one or more other doctors may be called to testify that the plaintiffs have not proven that smoking cigarettes was a substantial factor in the development of Mr. White’s cardiomyopathy. Additionally, the defendants disagree that COPD had anything to do with Frank White’s death. Both Mr. White’s cardiologist and the plaintiffs’ own retained medical expert witness have testified that COPD did not cause Mr. White’s death.

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