Judge Approves Lawsuit Against Tobacco Firms

WASHINGTON —  A federal judge has denied the tobacco industry’s bid to toss out the Justice Department’s $280-billion lawsuit against the nation’s top cigarette makers.

The tobacco industry argued that the case should not be brought to trial this fall because the Justice Department has failed to show that the companies were likely to commit fraud in the future.

“To answer that question, the court must hear and weigh the evidence, which is properly done at trial,” U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler said in a ruling issued late Thursday.

The Justice Department filed the civil racketeering case against the industry for allegedly conspiring to deceive the public about the dangers of tobacco and the addictive nature of nicotine. The government also claims the companies targeted children through advertising and then lied about it.

The suit was filed under the Clinton administration. The Justice Department, under the Bush administration, initially sought to settle the case but pursued it after talks failed.

In her ruling, Kessler rejected an argument by the tobacco companies that the case should be tossed out because a 1998 legal settlement with 46 states restricted the industry’s ability to commit future wrongdoing. The companies cited the numerous restrictions the settlement imposes on them, such as a ban on cartoon characters and ads on public transportation or billboards.

“There is no question that Philip Morris USA and other tobacco companies have dramatically changed the way their products are marketed,” said William Ohlemeyer, a lawyer for Philip Morris USA, the nation’s largest cigarette manufacturer.

Kessler said the companies were asking her to assume that the industry had complied with the settlement and would continue to comply with it, assumptions she said she would not make at this stage in the case.

Kessler also noted that the government was seeking remedies not provided under the settlement with the states. That includes new marketing restrictions, funding of nicotine replacement therapy for smokers and the return of $280 billion allegedly earned through fraud.