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$280 Billion Penalty Against Tobacco Firms Is Blocked
Associated Press - Tuesday, October
18, 2005; Page A18
The Supreme Court refused yesterday to allow the Bush administration
to pursue a $280 billion penalty against tobacco companies on claims
they misled the public about the dangers of smoking.
The decision,
a major victory for cigarette makers, was not unexpected because the
government's civil case against the tobacco companies is still
pending and the federal judge who presided over the trial has not
yet decided whether tobacco companies are guilty of wrongdoing. The
Supreme Court declined, without comment, to intervene now, but the
case could return to the justices next year.
The fight at
the high court was over the amount of money the companies would have
to pay if U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler rules that they
violated a federal anti-racketeering law known as RICO.
William
Ohlemeyer, vice president of Altria Group Inc., parent of the
biggest U.S. cigarette company, Philip Morris USA, said the decision
was appropriate. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales said that
while the administration was disappointed, "we continue to believe
very strongly in this case."
William Corr,
executive director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said the
Justice Department "should not use the Supreme Court's decision as
an excuse to let the tobacco companies off the hook with a weak
settlement."
A federal
appeals court in Washington had ruled that the government could not
pursue the $280 billion, the most ever sought in a U.S. civil
racketeering trial.
The Supreme
Court is already hearing a case involving RICO, the Racketeer
Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, and whether the law can be
used against antiabortion protesters. The law, aimed primarily at
fighting mobsters, has both criminal and civil provisions.
The government
has said that the $280 billion is an estimate of money that tobacco
companies earned through fraudulent activities. It may still pursue
a request for $14 billion in stop-smoking and education programs.
The government had been criticized for not asking for more; an
expert had recommended a $130 billion smoking-cessation program.
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