Tobacco.org

• Supreme Court Won't Intervene In West Virginia Tobacco Suits 

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to intervene in West Virginia legal proceedings involving more than 1,000 individual lawsuits against the tobacco industry.

The four major U.S. tobacco companies have opposed the way West Virginia courts have consolidated the individual suits into one large multi-phased trial proceeding. The appeal, rejected by the high court without comment, sought Supreme Court intervention before the March 18 start date of the trial's first phase. . . .

they believe the legal proceedings violate Supreme Court precedent, including recent punitive damages decisions . . .

"If the more than 1,000 individual cases involved in this action were treated in the traditional course of litigation, the West Virginia court system would need to devote at least 180 judge years to these trials," the attorneys said in a legal brief. "Many, if not most, of the plaintiffs would die before their individual case was tried, thus affording the defendants a free pass." . . .

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has been critical of West Virginia's court system, filed a brief faulting the proceedings. "The reverse bifurcation procedure devised by the trial court contravenes this court's decisions aimed at ensuring that even unpopular defendants receive due process," the Chamber said. (Philip Morris USA v. Accord)

Jump to full article »