WASHINGTON, July 21 (UPI) -- A federal judge in Washington Wednesday ordered Philip Morris and its parent Altria Group to pay $2.75 million for deleting e-mails before a lawsuit.
The Justice Department is suing the tobacco companies for $280 billion for allegedly lying about the danger and addictiveness of tobacco over several decades, in violation of the Racketeer Influenced or Corrupt Organizations Act.
U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler said company personnel deleted 60-day-old e-mail for two years after a 1999 court order telling the industry to preserve its records, despite Philip Morris' policy against such deletions, and "such conduct will not be tolerated."
Any company expert witness who deleted such mail will be prevented from testifying at trial, Kessler said.
Besides Philip Morris USA Inc., the defendants are R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., Lorillard Tobacco Co., Altria Group Inc., British American Tobacco Ltd., the Council for Tobacco Research, the Tobacco Institute and the Liggett Group.
