June 28, 2010WASHINGTON (Deutsche Presse-Agentur) -- The US Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by the US government seeking billions of dollars in payments from the tobacco industry under anti-racketeering laws.
The high court said it would not hear the case that alleged the tobacco industry should pay billions of dollars for lying about the health effects of cigarettes. The court issued the decision without providing an opinion.
In a lawsuit filed by the Clinton administration in 1999, the government wanted the tobacco companies to pay 280 billion dollars for deceptive practices to get people addicted to smoking. The case was rejected years ago, but the Obama administration pursued the appeal.
The case was brought against Philip Morris, RJ Reynolds, Altria, British American Tobacco and Lorillard Tobacco.
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