Categories
· Lawsuits
non-USA, by Country
· Marshall Islands
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Jump to full article: Business Wire, 2002-05-09
Intro: A case brought by the Republic of the Marshall Islands against the United States cigarette industry ended today with a ruling from the country's Supreme Court upholding the dismissal of the case for lack of evidence.
In a unanimous 18-page decision, the judges agreed with the lower court's ruling that the government's lawyers did not present adequate evidence to support their claim that the country suffered an economic loss as a result of alleged wrongful conduct by the tobacco industry. "A court cannot hold Tobacco liable for engaging in lawful activities (i.e. selling and distributing cigarettes in the Marshall Islands), " said the Court.
"Today's decision is an important one for the industry because it underscores the fact that, whether filed in the U.S. or abroad, suits by foreign countries against tobacco companies are unlikely to succeed. These governments must follow the same rules of law that apply to all other litigants, " said William S. Ohlemeyer, Philip Morris Cos. vice president and associate general counsel.
A federal district court in Washington D.C. has dismissed similar cases brought against the tobacco industry by the governments of Guatemala, Ukraine, Nicaragua and the Province of Ontario, Canada. Cases brought in state court in Florida by Venezuela, Ecuador and the Brazilian State of Espirito Santo have also been dismissed.
"Every federal appellate court in the United States to address the issue has upheld the dismissal of suits by third party payors of health care expenses, such as foreign governments, " Ohlemeyer said.
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