Another win in Court...
Thursday January 25 9:04 PM ET
Jury Discord Forces Mistrial
By TOM HAYS, Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - A judge declared a mistrial Thursday in a high-stakes
tobacco trial after being warned that deliberations were so strained that one
juror had threatened to kill another.
``I have an obligation to jurors to protect them,'' U.S. District Judge Jack
Weinstein said.
The last of three notes sent to Weinstein on the fifth day of deliberations read,
``Juror has made threat against other juror to kill'' if they have to be ``here
much longer.''
Juror Maggie Altidor - one of two holdouts in a 10-2 deadlock favoring the tobacco industry - told reporters
she wrote the third note after a male juror threatened that if deliberations lasted another day, ``one of us would be killed.''
Another juror, Aaron Barlow, downplayed the episode, claiming, ``It's not what was said.'' But he also said
that the jury had been deadlocked since last week, and tensions were mounting.
``Frankly, I think the whole case was a waste of time,'' said Barlow, who was with the majority.
A unanimous verdict was required.
The two-month trial pitted a trust representing asbestos workers - many of them with lung cancer - and their heirs against R.J. Reynolds, Philip Morris, Brown & Williamson and other cigarette makers.
The trust accused the companies of conspiring to mislead workers about a ``lethal synergy'' of cigarette smoke and asbestos.
The trust has paid $1.4 billion in claims involving a bankrupt, one-time asbestos maker, Johns-Manville Corp, as part of earlier settlement. The plaintiffs argue that the tobacco industry should be forced to ``pay its fair share'' - up to $135 million - of the liability.
Tobacco industry lawyer David Bernick said the mistrial was a victory for his clients. ``This was an enormous effort to establish a beachhead against the tobacco industry and it's failed completely,'' he said.
Trust attorney Ed Westbrook said he will seek a retrial.
``Obviously, we're disappointed, but we'll take another good run at the tobacco companies,'' he said.
The plaintiffs had predicted a verdict in their favor would improve chances for a far-reaching settlement of
similar lawsuits brought by insurers and other third parties that want the tobacco industry to share the cost of treating patients with cigarette-related illnesses.
The defense said the case has no legal basis, noting that federal courts have ruled that third-party plaintiffs are too remote to seek damages.
In closing arguments last week, Westbrook said internal memos and testimony by industry insiders proved the defendants knew for decades that asbestos workers who smoked were five times more likely to get lung disease than the average smoker.
The evidence also showed manufacturers conspired to hide the findings from the workers, he said.
``We're never going to know the full story, because the full story has been destroyed,'' Westbrook said. ``But what we do know tells a very, very sad story.''
Bernick argued that the trust was plagued by mismanagement and dwindling funds - not fraud by the tobacco industry.
``We never misled the trust,'' he said. ``The trust knew all along about tobacco and synergy. ... They're asking the defendant to help them out with their problem.''
During seven weeks of testimony, the jury also heard from several industry executives and researchers,
including whistle-blower Jeffrey Wigand, whose story inspired the movie ``The Insider.''
Wigand testified that while head of research at Brown & Williamson in the early 1990s, company lawyers
censored any internal document that contradicted the industry's public ``mantra'' that cigarettes had not been proven to cause cancer.
Nicholas Brookes, chairman and chief executive of Brown & Williamson, denied accusations that his company targeted asbestos workers with cigarette advertising. |
