First British Tobacco Trial Set

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

                          June 24, 1998
 U.K. Judge Sets January 2000
 Date
 For First Tobacco Trial in
 Europe

 By ERNEST BECK 
 Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

 LONDON -- A British judge set a January 2000 trial
 date for a landmark lawsuit against the country's
 tobacco industry, clearing the way for Europe's first
 group-action case by lung-cancer sufferers against
 cigarette makers.

 The suit against Britain's two biggest tobacco
 companies, Imperial Tobacco PLC and Gallaher Group
 PLC, is being closely watched in Britain and abroad as a
 test of strength between the growing antismoking lobby
 in Europe and the tobacco industry.

 At a hearing, Judge Michael Wright said the trial would
 be allocated up to six months of court time, but he left
 open the issue of how many plaintiffs will be allowed to
 take part.

 Statute of Limitations

 The suit has been filed on behalf of 53 plaintiffs, but the
 defense argues that 37 of these might fall outside the
 statute of limitations. Litigants claiming damages for
 personal injuries generally have three years, after
 suffering or diagnosing their injuries, to pursue a claim.
 The judge said he will hold a hearing in November to
 decide the issue.

 While antitobacco lawsuits are common in the U.S.,
 lawsuits against tobacco companies have rarely gone to
 trial in Europe, where group- or class-action suits aren't
 allowed in many countries and punitive damages in
 personal-liability cases are usually low. Moreover, in
 Britain, most cases are tried before judges, not juries,
 which are often more sympathetic to plaintiffs.

 The British plaintiffs claim that the two manufacturers,
 which control 80% of the British market, knew by the
 1950s that their products were lethal but negligently
 refused to reduce tar levels and to beef up warning
 labels.

 Martyn Day, a maverick British lawyer who is
 spearheading the plaintiffs' case and is being coached by
 U.S. antitobacco attorneys, described the decision as "a
 great step forward" after years of procedural delays.

 'Psychological' Hurdle Cleared

 Ian Birks, a spokesman for Gallaher Group, said that an
 important "psychological" hurdle has been cleared and
 that the company is now preparing to vigorously defend
 itself. "We are in a good position, and we want to go to
 court to finally see them off," Mr. Birks said. However,
 he added that the judge's decision to set the trial date,
 and previous procedural rulings, aren't related to the
 actual merits of the case, which haven't yet been tested
 in a British court.

 Efforts to bring the British suit to trial take place amid a
 flurry of antitobacco activity in Europe, and
 unprecedented efforts by antismoking activists and some
 European governments to pursue the tobacco industry
 aggressively.

 In its latest victory, the European Union decided to
 impose an all-encompassing ban on tobacco advertising
 and sponsorship, which will be fully in place by 2006.
 The ban will prohibit tobacco ads on billboards,
 magazines and newspapers, and even prevent tobacco
 companies from using direct-mail marketing.

 Separately, the British legal system is changing in ways
 that encourage group, or class-action, suits. For
 example, a fee arrangement known as "no win, no fee,"
 which is similar to the American contingency-fee
 agreement, is now allowed. Lawyers get paid only if they
 win. In the tobacco case, plaintiffs each intend to claim
 between 50,000 pounds and 100,000 pounds ($83,650
 and $167,300).