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Non-Tech : Philip Morris - A Stock For Wealth Or Poverty (MO) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Gary Korn who wrote (4994)	11/3/1999 3:54:00 AM
From: Herschel Rubin	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6439

Gary, Good post. The argument presented is clear and logical. The plaintiffs arguments are dramaticised emotionalism. This nation is no longer inhabited by proponents of individual freedoms. Rather, it has become a nation of victims. Next, we'll have class-action lawsuits against the automobile companies because their drivers sometime cause accidents. Throw in the alcohol companies and coffee companies, etc., for good measure. Such cases will be easier to win because those industries have not been legislated (forced) to conspicuously post warning labels stating the obvious. Should the Tabacco companies prevail in the Florida case, the alleged "victims" should be forced thereafter to wear a label across their forehead stating the following: "Warning, the Surgeon General has determined that this individual has been shown to be unable to accept responsibility for his own actions and he is particularly prone to litigious actions that may be hazardous to your wealth. Do not sell ANYTHING to him."

To: Gary Korn who wrote (4994)	11/3/1999 5:10:00 AM
From: Ralph Bergmann	Respond to of 6439

This is an important point: " ... In contrast, the Order produces no legitimate benefit for the plaintiff class. By the plain terms of the Order, the punitive award is to be distributed pro rata to all class members who establish liability and compensatory damages - a distribution that by definition cannot begin until after the close of hundreds of thousands of individual trials. As a result, even though the jury would assess a classwide punitive award now, the trial court could not enter a final judgment with respect to any class member and therefore could not distribute a single penny of that award - or any compensatory award - to class members for decades to come. " What happens with the money in the meantime? Do the companies have to pay first and the state distributes later , or does the money has to be paid when the individual trials are over? Also the Bond issue is still unclear. If the companies have to issue a bond after the lump-sum-award, then we will face a potential BK filing. What I am wondering about is that the other industries remain so silent about these trials. They should have an interest in helping tobacco to prevent succeeding trials in their own industry. What do you think?

To: Gary Korn who wrote (4994)	11/3/1999 8:56:00 AM
From: md1derful	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 6439

Gary: Great post..and subsequent posters also..Ralph, you also raise a great issue...where are the other industry giants now that the Florida courts threaten to litigate a major company out of existance..why is not their voice heard amidst this judicial travesty (wow,heavy...didn't think I had it!!) Yes, our stock is getting killed, but at least this thread is interesting...thanks for all the dd guys...incidently defendants side of case received the bulk of the press in todays Ft. Laud sun-senitinel.