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

To: Jim Oravetz who wrote (6427)	8/10/2006 1:09:37 PM
From: Jim Oravetz	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6439

Philip Morris, Cigarette Makers Ask For Engle Rehearing August 8, 2006 6:58 p.m. By Christina Cheddar Berk Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)-- Altria Group Inc.'s (MO) Philip Morris USA and other major cigarette makers asked the Florida Supreme Court late Monday to reconsider and clarify parts of its decision last month to dismiss a $145 billion punitive-damage award against the industry. Although last month's decision in the so-called Engle case was largely favorable to the cigarette makers, the court's opinion allowed smokers to sue the tobacco companies and use the factual findings of a jury in 2000 in their own cases. In their motion Monday, the companies asked the court to reconsider its decision to uphold certain factual findings of a lower court, including that the companies negligently misled smokers about the dangers of their products. The tobacco companies have opted not to challenge a principle called general causation, or the idea that smoking is known to cause certain illnesses, nor are the companies challenging the claim that smoking is addictive. The cigarette makers argued that it is unfair for other juries to apply the findings from the Engle trial to future individual claims. The companies also said the court failed to address a number of other issues in their appeal that were left unresolved by the appellate court. In the wake of the July 6 ruling, several smokers in Florida have already filed their own individual suits against the cigarette companies. The original lawsuit was filed more than a decade ago on behalf of Howard Engle and other Florida residents, who claim they became sick after smoking cigarettes. In addition to Philip Morris, the defendants in the case include Reynolds American Inc.'s (RAI) R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Loews Corp.'s (LTR) Lorillard Tobacco Co., and Vector Group Inc.'s (VGR) Liggett Tobacco Co.