Judge Dismisses Price-Fixing Case

A federal judge dismissed antitrust charges against tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings Inc. and other cigarette makers that alleged the companies had conspired to fix the wholesale price of cigarettes, R.J. Reynolds said.

Six separate cases filed by wholesalers charging price fixing against R.J. Reynolds and rivals Philip Morris Cos., Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. and Lorillard Tobacco Co. were consolidated into a class-action suit in January 2001.

Judge Owen Forrester issued the ruling on behalf of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in Atlanta.