U.S. Justice Department Won't Seek Rehearing On Tobacco Case..

August 2, 2009 - The U.S. Justice Department won't seek a rehearing of a landmark decision this spring that found the tobacco industry violated federal racketeering laws, potentially increasing the odds that the controversy could make its way to the Supreme Court.

Tobacco companies involved in the litigation filed requests due Friday to have the matter heard by the full circuit court, but the Justice Department won't do the same.
Defendants in the case include Altria Group Inc.'s (MO) Philip Morris subsidiary, Reynolds American Inc. (RAI), British American Tobacco PLC (BTI) and Lorillard Inc. (LO).

The tobacco companies involved filed requests due Friday to have the matter heard by the full circuit court, but the Justice Department won't do the same. In legal documents filed Friday, the tobacco companies offered numerous arguments as to why the full court should rehear the matter, including legislative changes approved in June that they say will tighten federal oversight of the tobacco industry to the point that industry members aren't likely to violate federal racketeering laws again, mooting the panel's ruling.

The court said the tobacco companies "knew about the negative health consequences of smoking, the addictiveness and manipulation of nicotine, the harmfulness of secondhand smoke," and agreed with the government's argument that tobacco firms were likely to commit future racketeering violations.

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Reference:
Justice Dept. Won't Seek Rehearing On Tobacco Case by Judith Burns of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES, 8/1/2009.