Jump to full article: Charleston (WV) Daily Mail, 2007-11-06
Author: Justin D. Anderson Daily Mail Staff
Intro: The state Supreme Court is set to consider whether a massive civil trial involving major tobacco companies and more than a thousand smokers is set up properly.
Millions of dollars are at stake, and the court's decision could result in yet another delay in the case, which is already 10 years old.
Lawyers for the major tobacco companies say Ohio County Circuit Judge Arthur Recht has devised a trial process that puts the cart before the horse.
The trial is set to begin in March.
They contend Recht's plan violates the companies' rights because the jury would be asked to determine how much money the companies would owe in punitive damages even before the companies had a chance to defend themselves against plaintiffs' individual allegations. . . .
Lawyers for the plaintiffs say the companies are just trying to stall.
They call the tobacco companies' petition "appallingly disingenuous."
The plaintiffs point to an earlier decision by the state Supreme Court in 2005 in which justices upheld Recht's plan. . . .
The state court is scheduled to consider the matter Wednesday.
Jump to full article » |