Appeals court upholds dismissal of tobacco lawsuit
Aug 21, 2007—A federal appeals court on Monday upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by a group trying to force tobacco companies to pay at least $60 billion spent by Medicare to treat smoking-related illnesses The Associated Press reported the story. The United Seniors Association, based in Purcellville, Virginia, sued Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds and other tobacco companies in 2005, alleging they intentionally hid cigarettes' addictive properties. The group said the companies should be held liable for Medicare's expenditures since August 1999 to treat illnesses attributable to smoking. U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns dismissed the lawsuit last August. Today, the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston upheld that dismissal.
Aug 21, 2007—A federal appeals court on Monday upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by a group trying to force tobacco companies to pay at least $60 billion spent by Medicare to treat smoking-related illnesses The Associated Press reported the story. The United Seniors Association, based in Purcellville, Virginia, sued Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds and other tobacco companies in 2005, alleging they intentionally hid cigarettes' addictive properties. The group said the companies should be held liable for Medicare's expenditures since August 1999 to treat illnesses attributable to smoking. U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns dismissed the lawsuit last August. Today, the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston upheld that dismissal.
