Tobacco Industry Wins Ruling Against State

The tobacco industry, facing lawsuits by 22 states seeking to recover tax funds spent on smoking-related health care, won a victory Friday when a West Virginia trial judge said she would dismiss most of the case filed against the industry by the state’s attorney general.

Circuit Judge Irene C. Berger said in a letter that the two state agencies that are the plaintiffs do not have an independent right to sue for personal injuries caused by smoking.

Her action means in West Virginia the state’s attorneys would “have to prove each individual case from beginning to end,” said Robert Weber, an attorney for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

Weber said the decision could have ramifications for cases in the other states. But anti-tobacco attorneys said Berger’s decision would not have any impact beyond West Virginia.