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To: Nemer who wrote (47600)	4/7/2003 5:44:46 PM
From: Larry S.	Respond to of 53068

Attorneys General Ask Court to Cut Philip Morris Bond Monday April 7, 4:52 pm ET By Christina Cheddar Berk NEW YORK -- Attorneys general from several states Monday asked an Illinois court to ease the bond requirement needed for Altria Group Inc.'s Philip Morris USA unit to appeal a recent tobacco case. The friend-of-the-court brief had been widely anticipated. Last month, Judge Nicholas Byron, a Madison County, Ill., court judge, ordered Philip Morris to pay $10.1 billion for misleading smokers into thinking its Marlboro Light and Cambridge Light cigarettes were less harmful than the company's full-flavored versions. Philip Morris has said it wants to appeal the court's decision, but claims the largest surety bond it can obtain is $1.5 billion. The court is asking for a $12 billion bond. Philip Morris recently warned state attorneys general that the need to post the bond may result in the company missing its next scheduled payment under a 1998 legal settlement with the states, which is due on April 15. Philip Morris USA owes the state governments $2.6 billion under a 1998 settlement with the states. In the filing with the court Monday, the state attorneys general asked the court not to set an appeal bond that could endanger the "vital interests" of the states or "interfere with government functions." According to the states, the settlement payments are an important source of funding for public health and education programs. The state attorneys general argued in the brief that the court has the authority to reduce the amount or modify the form of the appeal bond, and should do so by April 15. "In this climate, the unexpected loss of $2.6 billion in state revenues would be a devastating blow to many state programs," the states said. Forty-six states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and four U.S. territories all receive revenue from the settlement. But not all states participating in the tobacco settlement signed the brief. The brief had 37 signatories pulled from the states and U.S. territories, and including the National Conference of State Legislatures. All I can say: Money makes strange bedfellows. larry