Court Rejects Belli Appeal on Smoking Report

The state Court of Appeal in Ventura lifted a temporary stay in a cigarette-linked wrongful death suit Friday and denied a petition by attorney Melvin Belli, who was prohibited from quoting from the U.S. surgeon general’s report on cigarette smoking.

Belli, who is representing the family of a man who died of lung cancer and other ailments, filed the appeal because Superior Court Judge Bruce Dodds ruled that Belli could only mention the report in his opening statement but could not quote from it. Dodds will rule later in the trial on the admissibility of the report as evidence.

The trial, scheduled to resume Monday, will determine whether R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. is liable for the death of a man who smoked the firm’s cigarettes.

Because Belli had dismissed as defendants two Isla Vista markets where the man bought cigarettes, Reynolds attorneys have the option of seeking a transfer of the case to federal court. Dodds had asked the attorneys to make a decision Monday morning.