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Tobacco Defense Team Criticizes Judge Recht Ruling [Source: State Journal, The] 

Ohio County Circuit Judge Arthur M. Recht has gone against the grain in a ruling he made in a massive personal injury lawsuit being waged in Ohio County against cigarette makers, the companies have said.

The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, however, did not see the need to change Recht's decision, and the case now will resume its progress toward trial

Recht ruled last year that cigarette makers would have to answer certain accusations that they did not do enough to warn the public about the dangers of smoking, and that they concealed the dangers from the public. The tobacco companies believe some of their actions are immune to liability because of the 1969 Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act, which required warning labels for cigarette packages and advertising.

But Recht decided complying with the federal law does not automatically preclude the companies from liability in certain non- advertising promotions. The judge said the 1992 U.S. Supreme Court of Appeals opinion in Cipollone v. Liggett Group Inc. allows the companies to be held liable for certain post-1969 fraudulent concealment claims brought in state court.

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