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Morning News

Florida Tobacco Trial: Companies File Appeals

Aired July 17, 2000 - 10:10 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: We start this morning, though, in Florida. Lawyers for the tobacco industry, hoping for a new lease on life. Just a few minutes ago they finished their meeting with the Florida judge who presided over the landmark case that ended on Friday afternoon with a record award. Jurors ordered the nation's five biggest cigarette makers to pay $145 billion to ailing Florida smokers or their survivors.

CNN's Susan Candiotti, live now from Miami with the very latest on this case.

Susan, good morning.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.

This was a very brief and a very routine hearing. The very first hearing to happen after that verdict came down on Friday afternoon. Now what happened was this, both sides had an opportunity to speak briefly before Judge Robert Kaye. And the end result is this, there will probably be a hearing next week on a motion for the judgment to be entered, a judgment in the case already rendered by the jury. But it is all formalized in written fashion. And in this case, it is normally written up by the plaintiffs, in other words, the class of Florida smokers in this case.

Normally, that is just submitted and entered into the court record. However, because there have been hearings about just about everything involving this trial, there will be a hearing about that.

Other than that, during today's brief hearing, it was discussed and put on the record that there are 16 pending motions, those include motions for various mistrials, that were filed during the course of this two-year long trial. And so there will be having additional schedules and hearing dates on those as time goes on.

Now while all of this is happening, the jurors in particular are keeping an eye on what happens next.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): As big tobacco begins what's sure to be a lengthy appeals process, Jury foreman Leighton Finegan says he hopes the legal system doesn't disappoint him. LEIGHTON FINEGAN, JURY FOREMAN: If they do a disservice to the American public by not making these companies accountable, then that would be a travesty of justice.

CANDIOTTI: Finegan and fellow juror James Stowbridge both recognize the courts will have the final say on whether to knock down their $145 billion damage award.

JAMES STOWBRIDGE, JUROR: If the verdict was wrong, I think the judge has got the power to overturn it.

CANDIOTTI: Neither wants that to happen. And neither puts much stock in big tobacco's claim the five companies in question would go out of business if damages went over $375 million, a fraction of the jury's verdict.

STOWBRIDGE: I don't think the numbers are going to stick, but I think they can afford to pay the numbers. I think they've got the resources to find a way to pay them.

CANDIOTTI: The jury found big tobacco deserved to be punished for making a cancer-causing, defective, addictive product, and for concealing evidence.

FINEGAN: We were particularly angered by the fact that sometimes they did studies in their scientific labs, and they didn't want us to know the results, they would ship the results to Germany.

We will not tolerate fraud, misrepresentation and selling a product that is dangerous to the American public and not have accountability.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: How long will this appeals process take? well, generally, one to two years. But other experts say it could take much, much longer.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, reporting live in Miami.

HEMMER: All right, Susan, we will track that appeals road ahead.

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