Jump to full article: Bloomberg News, 2001-01-26
Author: Christopher Mumma
Intro: The chairman of a compensation fund for sick asbestos workers said he intends to take cigarette companies to court again to make them pay a share of the health care costs for those workers who smoked.
Speaking a day after a federal judge in Brooklyn declared a mistrial in the case, Robert Falise, the chairman of the Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust, said the jury's failure to reach a verdict was not a vindication for the tobacco industry.
``This was no great victory,'' Falise said. ``Let's do it again until we get it right.'' . .
Falise insisted today that the jury was misled by erroneous instructions from the judge. Weinstein told jurors that the trust had to prove it was deceived by tobacco industry denials that smoking created a heightened health risk for asbestos workers.
``This jury got locked up on an error,'' Falise said. ``It was not necessary for us to prove that.''
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