WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Aug. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company is pleased that a Federal District Court in Massachusetts has dismissed a lawsuit brought against the company and other tobacco manufacturers by United Seniors Association, Inc. (United Seniors). This is the fourth federal court to dismiss claims against the tobacco industry under the Medicare as a Secondary Payer law.
United Seniors was seeking to recover medical expense reimbursements made by Medicare since Aug. 4, 1999, to treat Medicare recipients for illnesses attributable to cigarette smoking.
"This ruling confirms yet again that these types of lawsuits simply lack merit," says Martin L. Holton III, deputy general counsel for litigation at R.J. Reynolds.
In his ruling, Judge Richard G. Stearns stated: "This case is a reprise of claims against the tobacco industry brought by the federal government in the late 1990's seeking to recoup Medicare costs incurred in treating smoking- related illnesses ... These efforts by the government came largely to naught, with most courts rejecting the government's various theories of tobacco company liability."
The motion to dismiss was argued on June 29.
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, an indirect subsidiary of Reynolds American Inc. , is the second-largest tobacco company in the United States, manufacturing about one of every three cigarettes sold in the country. The company's brands include five of the 10 best-selling U.S. cigarette brands: Camel, Kool, Winston, Salem and Doral. For more information, visit http://www.rjrt.com/.
