Justice Department suddenly wants to settle tobacco suit
Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, June 19, 2001
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department wants to settle its drawn-out civil lawsuit seeking damages from tobacco companies, government officials said Tuesday in a move that appeared to take the industry by surprise.
Two Bush administration sources said there has been concern about the government’s case. These officials, discussing the matter only on grounds of anonymity, said the department would prefer to go for a settlement now rather than risk losing.
The department suffered a major setback last year when the judge hearing the case, U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler, dismissed two counts that would have allowed the government to recover some expenses related to sick smokers.
The suit was filed in September 1999. Under the leadership of then-Attorney General Janet Reno, the Justice Department said at the time that federal health care plans spend more than $20 billion a year treating smoking-related illnesses. It said those costs should be recovered.
President Clinton applauded the suit, saying Americans deserved a day in court.
Officials said Attorney General John Ashcroft has assembled a team of three lawyers, all career attorneys in the department’s civil division, to work on the settlement. The lawyers met Tuesday for the first time with the department’s tobacco litigation team to begin talking about a potential settlement, sources said.
These officials stressed that the department was not giving up the suit, saying instead that it would continue the litigation even as it seeks a settlement.
Philip Morris Inc., based in New York, issued a statement saying: "Philip Morris has not been approached about settlement of the Department of Justice lawsuit, nor have we approached anyone else about settlement of this lawsuit. We are not aware of any settlement discussions. We continue to believe the case is without merit."
The lawsuit was filed against Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., American Tobacco Co., Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., Lorillard, British American Tobacco Ltd., Liggett and Myers Inc., the Council for Tobacco Research-USA and the Tobacco Institute.
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