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R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company Wins Third-Party Payer Cases In Appeals Court Reversal 

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in favor of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJRT) and others in the tobacco industry today in four separate cases consolidated for purposes of appeal. The court's decision, which dealt with a case brought by a union health and welfare trust fund, and separate actions brought by three foreign governments, reaffirms Reynolds Tobacco Company's strong belief that claims raised by such third-party payers are without legal merit.

The union trust-fund case was brought on behalf of Service Employees International Union Health and Welfare Fund. Most of the case had already been dismissed by the trial court, but Judge Gladys Kessler (who also presides over the Justice Department's lawsuit pending against the tobacco industry) had allowed certain RICO and fraud claims to continue. Today's court of appeals decision reverses Judge Kessler's decision and orders the dismissal of the remaining claims.

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