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

To: Rarebird who wrote (1440)	4/22/1998 5:48:00 PM
From: Xpiderman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6439

Thanks. Here is the whole story. Major Victory for Tobacco Industry: Iowa Supreme Court Affirms Dismissal of Medicaid Claims NEW YORK, April 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, in a ruling of great significance, the Iowa Supreme Court affirmed the trial court's dismissal of all Medicaid reimbursement claims brought by the state's attorney general against the tobacco industry. This is the first time that a state's highest court has reviewed the validity of the legal theories underlying such claims. In its decision, the Court found that ''no state of facts is conceivable under which the plaintiffs might show a right of recovery.'' The Court held that the state's claims for damages were derivative and too remote because they arose from alleged injuries to smokers, and not to the state. The Court, using language directly relevant to other healthcare reimbursement cases, found that ''a failure to apply the remoteness doctrine would permit unlimited suits to be filed. Any employer or insurer who paid medical expenses of an employee or insured by smoking would have a claim against the tobacco industry. We are not inclined to open the proverbial flood gates of litigation to such an extent.'' ''In no uncertain terms, the Iowa Supreme Court opinion reaffirms the industry's consistent position that these so-called reimbursement lawsuits are wholly without merit,'' said Steven B. Rissman, senior counsel for Philip Morris. ''This opinion sends a direct message to all attorneys general and other third parties who have sued the tobacco industry: those who have brought similar reimbursement suits must stand in the shoes of the actual smokers.'' ''We have confidence that other courts will follow the lead of the Iowa Supreme Court and put the rule of law above the desire to punish an unpopular industry,'' said Rissman. ''If they do, this wave of baseless litigation will be over.''