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

To: S. M. SAIFEE who wrote (5030)	11/3/1999 7:41:00 PM
From: sea_biscuit	Respond to of 6439

Yea, it's a big scam and looks like Cramer is the scamster-in-chief over there. It is quoting at 20 and change right now. But there is nothing that prevents it from attaining its true value, i.e. A BIG ZERO! (which, coincidentally, is a pithy description of the kind of creature that Cramer is!) It's only a question of time. Maybe the big mouth should think of shorting his own stock, huh?

To: S. M. SAIFEE who wrote (5030)	11/3/1999 7:53:00 PM
From: Xianming Liu	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6439

Here is a view from the tobaco analyst in Smith Barney on FL's Supreme Court decision to review the current legal process in Miami .--SUMMARY:----Tobacco *The Supreme Court of Florida has responded to the tobacco industry's petition of last Friday with a request for further information. Its mere response is unusual and suggests that it may be in agreement with some of the points made by the industry. We believe that this development could represent the start of some severe difficulties for Stanley Rosenblatt's class, especially if the Supreme Court dismantles the current trial plan. Such a step might remove most of the benefits of the class certification to Rosenblatt and could remove the economies of scale that are attractive to most contingency fee based lawyers in bringing such class actions. **The Order does not stay (delay) the compensatory damages claim within Phase II. Further information is being sought from the parties by Nov 15 & Nov 22. WE ESTIMATE THAT A VIEW WILL COME FROM THE COURT BY MID DECEMBER. --OPINION:------------------------------------------------------------------ FLORIDA'S SUPREME COURT HAS ASKED FOR FURTHER INFORMATION IN CONNECTION WITH THE ONGOING ENGLE CLAIM IN MIAMI. IN OUR OPINION, THE COURT MUST HAVE IDENTIFIED WITH SOME OF THE POINTS MADE BY THE INDUSTRY IN ITS PETITION OF LAST FRIDAY. ON BALANCE THIS ORDER REPRESENTS GOOD NEWS FOR THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY, AND MAY ULTIMATELY RESULT IN THE CURRENT TRIAL PLAN (WHICH ALLOWS FOR A CLASSWIDE ASSESSMENT OF PUNITIVE DAMAGES) BEING ABANDONED. While it is highly unusual for any Court of appeal to become involved in a case during the trial court stage, this is no ordinary case. The scale of the damages being sought, and the possible size of the class are both threatening to the viability of the defendants. It is for this reason that the industry filed its strongly worded petition with Florida's Supreme Court, last Friday. (Two key paragraphs of that petition, are provided at the end of this note.) While today's order is only a request for further information, we interpret it as positive, and believe that it is suggestive of an eventual dismantling of the current trial plan. In short this decision could mark the start of severe problems for Stanley Rosenblatt, the plaintiff attorney in progressing his case. WE HAVE DUPLICATED BELOW THE WORDS CONTAINED WITHIN TODAY'S ORDER OF THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT: ORDER: "The Petitioners have filed a Petition for Writ of Prohibition relating to the upcoming "phase two" lump-sum punitive damage proceedings. The Respondents are requested to serve a response to the above-referenced petition on or before November 15, 1999, and the Petitioners may serve their reply on or before November 22, 1999. The parties shall narrowly address only the upcoming "phase two" lump-sum damage proceedings directly at issue in the present petition. "Phase two" proceedings already in progress not involving the lump-sum punitive damage proceedings directly at issue here are NOT stayed or otherwise interrupted by operation of the present order." EXTRACTS FROM THE INDUSTRY'S PETITION TO THE SUPREME COURT OF FLORIDA. NOTICE THE POWERFUL LANGUAGE, AND THE AGGRESSIVE ASSERTION OF A "MANIFEST INJUSTICE." DUE TO A GAG ORDER, THESE POINTS HAVE NEVER BEEN EXPRESSED BY THE DEFENDANTS DIRECTLY TO THE MARKET: "...Although a massive, lump-sum award could not be immediately reduced to judgment, the looming prospect of such an award would still have an immediate and significantly adverse effect on petitioners' businesses. Such an award would impact substantially petitioners' ability to borrow money at reasonable rates - and perhaps at any rate at all. The in terrorem pressure towards a "blackmail settlement" created by such a possibility justifies immediate intervention by a higher court. E.g., In re Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Inc., 51 F,3d 1293, 1298 (7th Cir. 1995) (issuing extraordinary relief for this reason where trial court error produced the threat of a similar "immense judgment" that could force "blackmail settlement"). The Order is one that, in a wholly unconstitutional manner, may be "effectively unreviewable at the end of the case," id. at 1298, and thus implicates this Court's "All Writs" power to correct the trial judge's manifest errors now...." "...In sum, whatever has prompted the trial judge and the Third DCA to act as they have -- whether it be a misunderstanding of the rules of law or any effort to aid plaintiffs in coercing a settlement of a massive class action that never should have been certified in the first place - is illegitimate. The Florida courts should not be perceived as permitting corporate defendants to be terrorized into blackmail settlements. This Court should intervene now to prevent this manifest injustice..."