WASHINGTON, March 22 (UPI) -- U.S. tobacco company lawyers are talking with Justice Department prosecutors about settling a civil fraud and racketeering case dating back six years.
Begun in 1999, the case against cigarette makers was recently weakened when a federal appeals court prohibited the government from forcing defendants to disgorge $280 billion in profits allegedly earned from smokers who took up the habit before age 21, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
The two sides have met at least once, since the Feb. 5 appeals court ruling, and are expected to meet again.
The government's civil fraud and racketeering case against the cigarette makers initially sought reimbursement of Medicaid spending for tobacco-related ailments, but a judge threw out that claim. That left the government with the civil fraud and racketeering claims.
The federal suit is separate from a $206 billion settlement struck in 1998 between the tobacco industry and 46 states.
