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To: Tomato who wrote (7022)5/2/1999 5:58:00 PM
From: Michael Burry  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 78750
 
Exactly. One of the pluses for MO over the others was the apparent strength that Marlboro was experiencing overseas. But if humans as a group (and worldwide) are prone to finding liability decades after the event or even non-event, then the whole industry is open to immense uncertainty that could affect their viability. I was brushing it off until recent cases highlighted the seriousness of this to investors considering the beaten-up sector. I had thought that eventually there would be one big lawsuit or that people would tire of the lawsuits. But it looks like settling with the states just revealed some vulnerability and now everybody and their mother is attacking. The ridiculous and unfair awards in these cases just must provoke even more lawsuits. I mean, it is a very simple mind that thinks "I smoked Pall Mall's for 30 years, and then Marlboro the last 10, and I got lung cancer, so Marlboro's to blame."

But it's the same reason that there will always be ob-gyns losing cerebral palsy malpractice suits. Greed and the fact that the average
IQ really is just 100.

What Tobacco really needs is the Supreme Court to stand up and issue a ruling on a case significant enough to be a deterrant to other frivolous tobacco liability cases. One such case is moving to the docket soon. If the ruling is in Tobacco's favor, I'd expect there to be a big jump in the stocks. If not, a crash. And there's a lot of risk in that.

Mike