Jump to full article: Winston-Salem (NC) Journal, 2001-04-20
Author: KNIGHT RIDDER/TRIBUNE
Intro: A lawsuit filed by the Republic of Ecuador that attempts to recover the cost of treating sick smokers from U.S. tobacco companies will be dismissed next week, Judge Paul Siegel of Miami-Dade Circuit Court has ruled.
"Dade County is probably the very best place in the entire world perhaps for a smoker to sue a tobacco company, but Florida may be the worst place in the U.S. for a foreign government to sue the tobacco companies," Siegel said in court Monday.
The judge said that foreign-government suits don't belong in this jurisdiction because they are too remote.
The dismissal of Ecuador's lawsuit is significant because it could portend a similar fate for 10 other lawsuits filed here against the tobacco industry by foreign governments.
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Quotes from this article:
Dade County is probably the very best place in the entire world perhaps for a smoker to sue a tobacco company, but Florida may be the worst place in the U.S. for a foreign government to sue the tobacco companies.
Judge Paul Siegel of Miami-Dade Circuit Court, who will dismiss Ecuador's suit next week. KNIGHT RIDDER/TRIBUNE, <I>Florida judge refuses Ecuador's suit against cigarette-makers</I>
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