Jump to full article: B&W NewsReal, 2001-09-29
Intro: A juror in the trial of a statewide class-action lawsuit against Philip Morris and other big tobacco companies was at work Sept. 18 when a colleague said a man from Philip Morris was on the phone for her.
"I can't speak with them," Darlene Thomas told co-worker Lana Miller. The caller left no message.
The mystery phone call was the subject of a hearing Thursday because parties in the tobacco litigation have been barred from communicating with jurors.
State District Judge Richard Ganucheau, presiding over the case in New Orleans, learned of the call after Thomas called his clerk to report it.
"You did exactly the right thing," Ganucheau told Thomas.
The judge ordered the parties in the case to find out if any calls were made on behalf of Philip Morris to individuals in New Orleans on Sept. 18.
"We certainly want to do an investigation to see if our client has any connection to this," said Philip Morris attorney Charles Gay, who asked Ganucheau for time to investigate the matter, including getting a copy of relevant phone records from the juror's employer.
But he added, "This (call) could have been done by the plaintiffs. It certainly is something that could have come from anywhere."Attorneys for the plaintiffs - hundreds of thousands of current and former Louisiana smokers - said the judge handled the matter appropriately.
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