Source: Reuter

Tobacco lawyer upset by release of Liggett documents

By Stephen Rothman WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., (Reuter) A tobacco
company attorney Monday said he was appalled by the amount of
pretrial publicity surrounding the release of the socalled Liggett
documents. ``Why anyone would release (to the public) documents
prepared when many of us were still in kindgergarten is appalling and
totally inappropriate,'' said attorney Justus Reid, who is defending
Lorillard Tobacco Co. in the upcoming trial of Florida's $1 billion
Medicaid lawsuit against tobacco companies. Reid was referring to
documents obtained by Liggett Group Inc. from other tobacco companies
that were drafted more than 20 years ago in anticipation of a legal
and public relations defense of cigarettes. The documents appear to
indicate that at least one of the law firms now involved in defending
tobacco companies engaged in actions to hide the dangers of tobacco
from the public, Congress and regulatory agencies. The documents were
released last week by Palm Beach Circuit Judge Harold Cohen after the
Court of Appeals in West Palm Beach ruled they contained information
that a jury could interpret as showing the tobacco companies and
their attorneys deliberately hid information from the public
regarding the potential harmful effects of cigarettes. Reid said he
was disappointed with his fellow attorneys for their publicized
comments about the documents, which he said may not even be
admissible in the trial. Florida's $1 billion lawsuit against the
tobacco companies seeks to recover Medicaidmoney used to treat people
with smokingrelated illnesses. ``The whole issue of relevance has
yet to be presented to the court,'' Reid said during a recess in
juror certification. So far, Judge Cohen has found 80 Palm Beach
County residents without health or financial problems who might
qualify for the jury of six plus nine alternates ultimately selected
to hear the evidence. He hopes to find 120 among the 336 original
called as prospective jurors. Cohen and attorneys for both sides said
it appears a jury will be seated in time for opening arguments to
start immediately after Labor Day, Sept. 1. When Wayne Hogan, one of
the attorneys for the state of Florida, was asked about Reid's
comments, he said the tobacco companies brought the publicity on
themselves. ``They were the ones who decided to appeal the ruling
regarding the release of the documents. They could have released
these documents long ago when we first asked for them, but they
didn't,'' he said. Hogan maintained that the documents dating from
the 1950s through the 1970s were relevant to the current case,
which is based on events occuring between 1994 and 1996. ``These
(documents) show an existing intent that is ongoing to the present
time. They support a continuing case of fraud and racketeering which
support or claim,'' he said. ^REUTER]