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Tobacco Companies Said to Have Met With U.S. on Suit (Update1) 

Tobacco company lawyers met with U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan last month to urge her not to file a Supreme Court appeal in the government’s racketeering case against the industry, an official involved in the Justice Department’s deliberations about the case said. . . .

The solicitor general often meets with litigants to hear their arguments before the government takes a position at the Supreme Court. Kagan also met with lawyers for anti-tobacco activists who are involved in the case, according to a private lawyer familiar with those discussions. . . .

Tracy Schmaler, a Justice Department spokeswoman, said in an e-mail that she couldn’t confirm the meeting with tobacco industry lawyers.

Estrada, reached by phone, declined to comment. Two Reynolds spokesmen, David Howard and Tommy Payne, didn’t immediately respond to voice mail messages and e-mails left after normal business hours. Carvin didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail. Calls to Altria weren’t immediately returned.

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