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Strategies & Market Trends : Z Best Place to Talk Stocks

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To: Ron McKinnon who wrote (47630)4/8/2003 11:50:08 AM
From: Larry S.  Read Replies (1) of 53068
 
Court Blocks Ill. Award from Philip Morris
Tuesday April 8, 11:43 am ET

CHICAGO (Reuters) - An Illinois court on Tuesday temporarily blocked a $3 billion punitive damages award Philip
Morris USA was ordered to pay the state in a class action suit over "light" cigarettes.

Cook County Circuit Court Judge James Henry
said Illinois had released any claims it could
collect from the tobacco companies when it
agreed to the 1998 Master Settlement
Agreement between the states and the industry
in issuing a temporary restraining order Tuesday.
The order is in effect for 10 days.

Madison County Illinois Circuit Court Judge
Nicholas Byron ruled last month that Philip
Morris USA deceived smokers into thinking
"light" cigarettes were safer than regular
cigarettes and ordered it to pay $7.1005 billion
in compensatory damages and $3.0 billion in
punitive damages. The punitive damages are
earmarked for the state of Illinois, but the
company said Illinois gave up claims to punitive
damages when it entered into a Master
Settlement Agreement with it and other U.S.
tobacco companies in 1998 along with 45 other
states.

New York-based Philip Morris USA, part of Altria Group Inc. (NYSE:MO - News), has also asked Byron, to chop the
$12 billion bond the company must post in order to appeal his verdict to $1.2 billion, or no more than $1.5 billion
biz.yahoo.com

the fact that MO got judge to agree to its main point on punative damage award likely bodes well on request for reduction in appeal bond, especially with other states chiding in on side of MO. looking to re-enter personally and Z. larry
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