Circuit Court Won’t Hear Tobacco Appeal

The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals said it won’t consider an appeal by U.S. tobacco companies in a lawsuit brought by the state of Texas. Earlier this week, the cigarette makers filed an emergency appeal, asking that the New Orleans-based panel strike down a decision by U.S. District Judge David Folsom to break the upcoming trial into three parts. The tobacco industry, led by Philip Morris Cos. and RJR Nabisco Holdings Corp., called Folsom’s Sept. 29 decision “unlawful.” The move was designed to simplify the trial. Texas is suing the tobacco industry to recoup more than $8 billion in Medicaid money it spent on treating smoking-related illnesses under the health-care plan for the poor.