Philip Morris U.S.A. Files Engle Reply Brief; Appeals Court to Schedule Oral Arguments

Business Wire, Sept 25, 2002

Business and Legal Editors

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 25, 2002

Philip Morris U.S.A. and the nation's other major cigarette makers today filed their final appellate brief in the Engle class action case, and the state's Third District Court of Appeal is expected to schedule oral argument soon.

"This brief, coupled with our initial brief filed last year, explains why the Engle verdicts resulted from a two-year exercise that prevented the cigarette makers from getting a fair trial and should be overturned," said William S. Ohlemeyer, Philip Morris Companies vice president and associate general counsel.

The brief filed today affords the companies the opportunity to respond to legal points raised by the plaintiffs in their brief filed earlier this summer.

"The plaintiffs' attorneys in this case have repeatedly attempted to evade the controlling legal issues by inventing arguments," said Ohlemeyer, noting that the trial record is replete with legal errors sufficient to justify a reversal.

"We look forward to explaining to Florida's Third District Court of Appeal why this class should be decertified and the verdicts reversed," he added.

Editor's Note: The text of the brief and summary are available at: http://www.philipmorris.com/pressroom/lit_reg/microsites/engle_trial/ engle_main.asp. (Due to the length of this URL, it may be necessary to copy and paste this hyperlink into your Internet browser's URL address field.)