Judge Orders Release of Tobacco Documents

A Florida state appeals court ordered the release of internal tobacco industry documents that the state says show cigarette makers lied to the public and conspired to cover up the risks of smoking. Atty. Gen. Bob Butterworth said he hopes the materials will “tell us . . . something about just how the industry was using lawyers to hide documents.” The state wants to use the documents from the Liggett Group in its lawsuit seeking to recover the costs of treating sick smokers on Medicaid. Jury selection for the trial began Friday. The documents have been examined by five judges in different courts, and all found reason to believe they were used to help cigarette makers perpetrate a fraud. John Sorrells, spokesman for Philip Morris Cos., said the industry would announce today what action it will take. The documents were supposed to be released by Liggett as part of its settlement with Florida and 21 other states this spring. But other tobacco companies went to court and argued that the documents were protected by attorney-client privilege. Mississippi settled a similar suit for $3.4 billion after the industry agreed to a $368-billion national settlement that would require congressional approval. In a related decision, a special master found the Tobacco Institute, the industry’s lobbying and public relations arm, also used attorneys to hide information on smoking’s dangers as well as industry plans to target young people.