[Intl-tobacco] Central Asia: Kyrgyzstan And Tajikistan Sue U.S. Tobacco Companies

[Robert Weissman]

Central Asia: Kyrgyzstan And Tajikistan Challenge U.S. Tobacco Companies
by K.P. Foley
Source: Radio Free Europe, Friday, 2/9/01

Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan claim American tobacco companies are to blame
for tobacco-related illnesses among their populations and they've hired an
American law firm to sue the biggest tobacco producers. RFE/RL
correspondent K.P. Foley spoke to lawyers representing both sides of the
issue and filed this report.

Washington, 9 February 2001 (RFE/RL) -- Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have
filed lawsuits against the biggest American tobacco companies, claiming
the industry is responsible for the public health burden the two countries
are bearing because of smoking-related illnesses.

Success could mean tens of millions of dollars in damage awards for the
two Central Asian nations. However, an attorney for one of the tobacco
companies says the complaints are worthless. Michael York, who represents
the Philip Morris tobacco company, told RFE/RL the firm is seeking to have
the cases rejected before they come to trial.

"Our motion is to have them thrown out of court. Mainly because they're
the wrong case alleging the wrong facts based on the wrong law and, most
importantly, brought in the wrong place."

The lawsuits, one on behalf of Kyrgyzstan and one on behalf of Tajikistan,
were filed in the state of Florida in the district court for Miami-Dade
County on 24 January.

Joe Raia, whose Miami law firm is arguing each nation's case, told RFE/RL
that Kyrgyz and Tajik authorities chose Florida as the venue to file their
case because there is a history in Florida of favorable decisions in
anti-tobacco lawsuits.

"These foreign suits have been filed here because there's a history of
other tobacco litigation in Miami-Dade County, Florida. In particular, the
state of Florida filed a pioneering lawsuit here which resulted in a huge
settlement between the state of Florida and the tobacco industry."

He also noted that a jury found for a group of airline flight attendants
who sued tobacco companies because of their exposure to cigarette smoke on
airplane flights. And, just last month, a jury in Florida awarded $145
billion to a group of people who sued to recover damages from
tobacco-related diseases.

Raia said a separate suit was filed on behalf of each government seeking
to recover the costs borne by the health ministries and other government
departments who had to care for sick people or who lost productive
employees to illness.

"It's on behalf of the government to the extent it has had to pay direct
costs of tobacco-related injuries."

In a separate interview, the attorney for Philip Morris said anti-tobacco
suits filed by former communist countries that had their own cigarette
monopolies are ludicrous.

"The cases really don't make sense, in particular in respect to the former
Soviet Union republics. These are states that actually owned their own
monopoly cigarette companies up until just a few years ago."

Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are among a growing number of foreign countries
that have filed actions against U.S. tobacco companies for smoking-related
illnesses. Suits have been filed by Guatemala, Venezuela, Ecuador, two
federal states in Brazil, Russia and Ukraine.

The foreign countries may have been encouraged by the landmark "National
Tobacco Settlement," that was reached in 1997 between the biggest tobacco
companies and 46 of the 50 U.S. states.

The settlement calls for the four largest tobacco concerns to pay out $206
billion to the states for a period of 25 years. There are two phases to
the settlement funds. The first phase pays out money to the states to help
them cover the cost of treating patients suffering from smoking-related
ailments such as heart disease and cancer.

The second phase is given to the states, mostly in the south, where
tobacco is grown. Those funds are to help ease the financial burden
tobacco farmers are expected to feel as demand for tobacco decreases.

While the U.S. states may have won their legal battles with tobacco, the
American newspaper "The Washington Post" noted in a recent special report
on tobacco litigation that U.S. courts have been in general reluctant to
sustain foreign lawsuits against U.S. firms.

Raia said his law firm is confident that the actions on behalf of
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan will proceed. He said the cases are now in a
preliminary stage and no hearings have yet been scheduled.

He also said the complaints do not ask for any specific amount of money
for damages. He says there are existing models for tobacco litigation
awards. Raia said the complaints ask for damages that would be consistent
with previous awards in other Florida cases.

The lawsuits charge that RJ Reynolds, Philip Morris, and other tobacco
companies knew they were selling a dangerous, addictive substance, yet
they denied their products were causing harm.

"The industry has essentially used the addiction in order to sell their
product at the expense of human health."

York said the allegations that tobacco companies misled countries which
for years made their own cigarettes, "strains any kind of straight-faced
test you might want to construct."