Note from program presenter Tom Strong:

“The story of Missouri v. The Tobacco Industry is part trial law, part politics and part infighting within my own legal team. Forty-four graphics will help tell the story.

 Jay Nixon, Missouri’s Attorney General, had asked my advice about suing the industry for a couple of years. Finally, he filed suit to recover money the state had paid for medical costs for patients who had suffered tobacco related diseases. When the case was set for trial, his office had neither the manpower nor the budget to prosecute it. He advertised for one or more law firms to represent the state on a contingent fee and finance the estimated $10 million dollars it would take to prosecute the case.

After lengthy interviews and vetting, in 1998, he retained me as the one person to represent the state. I assembled a team of five law firms and 49 lawyers to fight about three times that many lawyers who would represent the 13 tobacco defendants. It was a monumental undertaking, but we would be ready for trial. What I did not count on were lawsuits against General Nixon and me; suits to intervein in our case; suits to obtain part of our recovery, and 23 bills or resolutions in the Missouri Legislature over a three year period to deprive us of our attorney’s fee, or reduce it, or condemn our representation. At Attorney General Nixon’s request, we released the State from its obligation to pay our fee. Missouri taxpayers did not and will not pay one cent to my team for its services, or to reimburse us for the millions of expenses we incurred.

In 2001, the Missouri Supreme Court approved our settlement with Tobacco, dismissed the cases again me personally and dismissed the intervenor’s cases against the State. The final result was an estimated $6.7 billion recovery to the state, payable over 25 years with annual payments continuing as long as tobacco is sold in Missouri. More importantly, the settlement agreement provides 18 pages of equitable relief. No longer can tobacco advertise in theaters, on TV, near schools or in magazines. Warnings have to be placed on tobacco packs. Now people can smoke if they wish, but Tobacco can no longer lie to us about its dangers.”

1MoCLE

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