Duane Morris Keystone in Historic Tobacco Settlement
Fox and Lipowicz lead Pennsylvania litigation team in multibillion dollar effort
When the Attorney General of Mississippi sued the tobacco industry for state healthcare costs associated with the use of tobacco products, he launched what would become the largest and most complex litigation in the nation's history. Duane Morris represented the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in its lawsuit against the tobacco industry. The defendants settled the litigation by means of a landmark $206 billion settlement for the 46 suing states and additional multibillion dollar settlements for the four remaining states.
When Pennsylvania Attorney General Michael Fisher elected to bring a lawsuit on behalf of Pennsylvania against the tobacco industry, he knew that the scope and complexity of the litigation necessitated the assistance of experienced law firms to represent the Commonwealth. He set forth strict requirements for possible candidates. The chosen firms had to have a strong Pennsylvania presence, no ties to the tobacco industry, and the work had to be done on a contingent fee basis. For more than 40 years, the tobacco industry boasted a perfect record of defending itself from numerous tobacco-related illness and injury lawsuits. No lawyer or law firm had ever won or settled with the tobacco industry for any amount of money. With the combined risk of losing to formidable opponents and not being paid any legal fees, only a few law firms would or could handle the case.
Duane Morris accepted Attorney General Fisher's offer to serve as one of two firms to guide the Commonwealth's critical tobacco litigation effort. Led by Duane Morris lawyers Reeder Fox and Mark Lipowicz, the litigation team undertook the daunting task with gusto. Within a year after the team filed its lawsuit on behalf of Pennsylvania, the tobacco industry agreed to the landmark settlement.
Duane Morris helped the state win an historic $11.2 billion, which will fund anti-smoking advertising campaigns, prescription drugs for the elderly, healthcare insurance for needy families, and offset the healthcare costs of tobacco-related illness. Based on this success, the firm was subsequently retained by the National Association of Attorneys General to defend the unprecedented $206 billion national tobacco settlement from antitrust and constitutional law challenges.