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Tobacco lawyers back away at smokers' damages claims
MIAMI. July 13: Bracing for what may be the highest civil penalty in US history, tobacco lawyers yesterday kept up attacks on lush values placed on cigarette companies by sick smokers demanding punitive damages up to $196.8 billion, says Reuters.
Dan Webb, attorney for Philip Morris MO. N. said the world famous manufacturer of Marlboro cigarettes would not even fetch $6.4 billion, its net worth, if forced to liquidate to satisfy punitive penalties to be taken up soon by six Miami Jurors tn the Engle class action suit.
Wall Street was so worried about the tidal wave of lawsuits facing Philip Morris USA. the domestic tobacco entity inside (he global packaged-goods giant Philip Morris, that investors essentially valued the unit at zero. Webb said.
An attorney for RJ Reynolds Tobacco RJR N. the No 2 US cigarette maker best known for Doral and Camel cigarettes, said the company was very heavily Indebted and would come up $499 million short if obliged to sell current assets and pay current liabilities.
"Like many individuals, Renolds is living paycheck to paycheck," attorney Jim Johnson told the Jurors.’
Reynolds last year reported net income of $2.59 billion, including big gains from the sale of the company's International tobacco business, on revenues of $7.57 billion.
Johnson said Reynolds was selling fewer cigarettes every year and has no prayer of paying the $19.6 billion to $37.5 billion apportioned as Its share of the punitive damages sought
for an estimated 500.000 or more sick smokers in Florida.
"Reynolds has little or no ability to pay a substantial punitive damages award, he said.
Johnson told the Jurors Rosenblatt's true goal was to drive America's biggest tobacco companies out of business.
But Florida law bars punitive damages so severe as to destroy a defendant. In addition. Florida's government last spring capped at $100 million the bond the tobacco companies must post while appealing the verdicts and any judgments.
The Jurors, who have heard testimony since October 1998. have already found America's five biggest tobacco companies liable for fraud, conspiracy, selling defective products, and the lung cancer, emphysema and other ailments of Florida smokers.
Defence attorneys were expected to continue closing statements through Thursday anil have argued in the high-stakes punitive damages phase of the Engle class-action that the companies have reformed poor practices and were weighed down by $246 billion owed through 2021 under other legal settlements.
Philip Morris attorney Webb also told the Jurors that a massive punitive damages award would be unfair, as well as a threat to the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of industry’ workers.
It will clearly be a bonus or reward to smokers on top of compensatory damages." Webb told the six jurors. "And you will be rewarding people, smokers, who will become instant millionaires."