Tobacco On Trial

Philip Morris USA and its parent Altria filed an extraordinary pair of documents on Oct. 16, 2006.
PM laid out its proposed Corrective statements “as compelled by the final judgment and remedial order” of Judge Kessler, while insisting that “the corrective statements remedy imposed by the Court is not supported by the factual record and the […]

On Oct. 5, 2006, Citizens for Ethics for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) won a major battle over the DOJ when Columbia District Court Judge Emmet G. Sullivan granted its request to distribute the videotape of CREW’s deposition of Associate Attorney General Robert McCallum, and denied DOJ’s request for emails that are in […]

Text follows of:
DOJ’s Bill of Costs
Bill of Costs Memorandum
**———————————————————
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
United States
V.
PHILIP MORRIS USA INC.,
f/k/a PHILIP MORRIS INC., et al.,
Case Number: 99-CV-02496 (GK)
BILL OF COSTS
Judgment having been entered in the above entitled action on August 17, 2006 against Joint Defendants (date) the Clerk is requested to tax the […]

EXCERPTS:

The purpose of the Remedial Order is to prevent and restrain future violations of RICO.2 Every provision of the Order is designed to prevent and restrain Defendants from repeating their past violations of the statute, which ranged from misleading the public about the reduced health risks from so-called “low-tar” cigarettes to document destruction to […]

Judge Weinstein’s Introduction to his Memorandum and Order is well worth reading for:
1. A brief and helpful accounting of the issues involved.
2. Some indication of the box-bursting, near-grandiosity of Judge Weinstein’s erudition and thinking.
Beyond the case, Judge Weinstein considers the very purpose of the Federal Court and jury systems, this suit’s chances in the […]

Jury Selection begins Jan 22, 2007
Parties hearings Oct. 30 and Nov. 29, 2006
May extend class to encompass smokers of ALL low-tar brands rather than “lights” alone.
Collateral Estoppel will not apply.
540-page decision, 998-page appendix of relevant parts of Kessler decision and her appendixes.
Docket #1006 reads:

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER: certification of class granted; summary judgment denied; orders for […]

Judge Weinstein has reached a decision in the Schwab case.
According to a Reuters report, he sent a note Friday to the parties that he would rule Monday morning by 10 AM.
He issued a seemingly related order in a very odd way: scrawled atop Plaintiffs’ September 19 letter on collateral estoppel. The handwritten note reads, […]

DOJ discovered almost 2 months ago that there was a discrepancy between Judge Kessler’s Order #1015 (Final Judgement and Remedial Order) and her much lengthier Final Opinion. Judge Kessler had ruled that Defendants had to maintain their online document websites for fifteen years. However, her Order #1015 specified the date as 2016, ie, only […]

Some aspects of the Schwab parties’ September 12, 2006 presentations have been filed with the court. The Defense has posted Murray Garnick’s exhibits, and the Hausfeld team has posted its slides.
Garnick Exhibits, September 13, 2006
Plaintiff Slide Presentation, September 13, 2006
CERTIFICATION TRUMPS ESTOPPEL?
The war between the parties now consists of whether Collateral Estoppel […]

No recording devices are allowed, and the courtroom acoustics were terrible, so please accept that all quotes are inherently not verbatim. But pretty close.
**———————————————————
This is one spectacular, brand-new (2002), 14-story federal courthouse, filled with large airy spaces, rich marbleoid floors that made even mens’ shoes ring out like high heels, and gleaming marble walls. […]