United States v. Philip Morris
The D.C. Circuit will hear an appeal of the decade-long civil racketeering case against the tobacco industry this fall. The case is United States v. Philip Morris. Philip Morris, now known as Altria Group, is challenging the 2006 verdict which found that it and six other Big Tobacco defendants conspired for years to deceive the public about the health risks of tobacco. In addition to upholding the lower-court verdict, the government is asking the court to order the tobacco industry to pay more than $12 billion to fund a smoking cessation program and to fund an educational, counter-marketing campaign.
