Judge Won't Delay Tobacco Trial
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A federal judge on Saturday denied a  tobacco industry request to delay the government's $280 billion  racketeering case against the industry which is scheduled to go  to trial on Sept. 21.
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A California appeals court has  ruled that a smoker's record-breaking $3 billion punitive  damages award against Philip Morris was still "excessive" even  after being reduced by a trial judge to $100 million and must  be halved again.
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The chief executive of tobacco holding company Vector Group Ltd. backed away from past admissions that smoking is a proven cause of disease during testimony on Monday in the government's racketeering trial against the industry.
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WASHINGTON - After five years of legal wrangling, the nation's largest cigarette-makers are meeting federal lawyers in court for the trial phase of the government's record $280 billion civil racketeering suit against the tobacco industry.    The government alleges the industry conspired to deceive the public about the dangers of smoking and the addictive nature of nicotine, and illegally targeted children through marketing campaigns...
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After nine weeks of testimony but with months to go, the federal judge presiding over the trial of the government&#39;s conspiracy suit against the tobacco industry invited
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America&#39;s largest tobacco companies go on trial on Tuesday as they face a $280bn (Â£156bn) government lawsuit. Opening arguments will be heard in the case, in which the Justice Department accuses the companies
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The nicotine in cigarettes is  habit-forming but is not the sole cause of addiction, a tobacco  company executive argued during testimony on Tuesday in the  government's $280 billion suit against cigarette makers.
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A judge overseeing the first criminal trial involving former Enron Corp. executives told prospective jurors Monday he didn&#39;t expect them to have &quot;come out of some hole somewhere&quot; and not know of the former energy-trading giant.
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The Supreme Court ruled Monday that Philip Morris Cos. Inc. cannot move a lawsuit by cigarette smokers into federal court.
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A federal appeals court ruled on  Tuesday that California's anti-smoking advertisements do not  violate the rights of tobacco companies even though they were  funded by taxes on cigarettes.
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The chief executive of tobacco  holding company Vector Group Ltd. backed away from past  admissions that smoking is a proven cause of disease during  testimony on Monday in the government's racketeering trial  against the industry.
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A Los Angeles judge on Tuesday refused to throw out a lawsuit against Unocal Corp. over human rights abuses during the building of a pipeline in Myanmar.
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A federal judge on Monday refused to dismiss a lawsuit accusing a Canadian mining company of polluting the Columbia River with heavy metals for decades.
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Tobacco officials are expected to appeal a ruling by an NC judge that halted millions in compensation to growers by cigarette companies as local farmers struggle to make their budgets and plan for next season.
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A lawsuit accusing tobacco companies of  defrauding smokers into thinking "light" cigarettes were safer  than regular brands can proceed as a class action, a federal  judge in New York ruled on Monday.
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A federal judge ruled Thursday that the nation's top cigarette makers violated racketeering laws, deceiving the public for years about the health hazards of smoking, but said she couldn't order them to pay the billions of dollars the government had sought.
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A U.S. judge is expected on Monday to  rule on whether to certify as a class action a lawsuit that  accuses tobacco companies of defrauding smokers into thinking  "light" cigarettes were safer than regular brands, according to  notice sent to lawyers in the case.