STATE OF NEW MEXICO FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT COUNTY OF SANTA FE
- STATE OF NEW MEXICO, ex rel.,
- TOM UDALL, ATTORNEY GENERAL
- OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO,
- Plaintiff,
-
- vs.
-
- THE AMERICAN TOBACCO COMPANY;
- AMERICAN BRANDS, INC.;
- R. J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO COMPANY;
- RJR NABISCO, INC.;
- BATUS, INC.;
- BROWN & WILLIAMSON TOBACCO
CORPORATION
- (individually and as successor by merger
- to THE AMERICAN TOBACCO COMPANY);
- BATUS HOLDINGS, INC.;
- BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO CO., LTD.;
- B.A.T. INDUSTRIES P.L.C.;
- PHILIP MORRIS INCORPORATED;
- PHILIP MORRIS COMPANIES INC.;
- LORILLARD TOBACCO COMPANY,
- LORILLARD, INC.;
- LOEWS CORPORATION;
- UNITED STATES TOBACCO COMPANY;
- UST INC.;
- SANTA FE NATURAL TOBACCO COMPANY, INC.;
- THE TOBACCO INSTITUTE, INC.;
- GENERAL DISTRIBUTORS, INC.;
- THE COUNCIL FOR TOBACCO RESEARCH-U.S.A.,
INC.;
- CORE-MARK MID CONTINENT, INC.; and
- GEM STATE DISTRIBUTORS, INC.
- Defendants.
No. ___________
Date May 27, 1997
COMPLAINT
Plaintiff, the State of New Mexico, ex rel.
Attorney General Tom Udall ("Plaintiff"), alleges:
NATURE OF THE ACTION
1. For many years, and continuing to date, the
defendant cigarette manufacturers and their trade associations
have engaged in a conspiracy to mislead, deceive and confuse the
State of New Mexico and its citizens regarding the overwhelming
evidence that cigarette smoking causes fatal disease -- and that
the nicotine in cigarettes is a powerfully addictive substance.
Although the cigarette manufacturers promised the New Mexico
public that they would lead the effort to discover and disclose
the truth about smoking and health, they have, in fact,
systematically suppressed and concealed material information and
waged an aggressive campaign of disinformation about the health
consequences of cigarette smoking. The cigarette manufacturers
have taken these actions, even though they have known for years,
based on their own secret research, that their products
eventually injure or kill the consumer when used exactly as
intended.
2. The cigarette manufacturers have known for
decades, on the basis of their own long-concealed research, that
nicotine is addictive. At the same time, at least certain
defendants have developed sophisticated techniques to manipulate
the nicotine delivery of cigarettes so as to create and sustain
addiction in smokers. Yet publicly the cigarette manufacturers
have denied, and continue to deny, that nicotine is addictive and
that they manipulate the nicotine delivery of cigarettes. In
April 1994, each of the Chief Executive Officers of the defendant
cigarette manufacturers testified before the Congressional
Subcommittee on Health and the Environment that nicotine is not
addictive.
3. The cigarette manufacturers are engaged in
this course of conduct despite their knowledge that the vast
majority of new smokers are children and teenagers. Of daily
smokers, eighty-two percent start before the age of eighteen.
Every day more than 3,000 American teenagers begin smoking.
4. Each year, more than 2,000 New Mexico
residents die from smoking the defendant cigarette manufacturers'
products, according to the American Cancer Society. Each year,
the State of New Mexico must spend millions of dollars to
purchase or provide medical and related services for New Mexico
citizens suffering from diseases caused by cigarette smoking.
Each year, the defendant cigarette manufacturers reap huge
profits from the sale of cigarettes in New Mexico. Each year, the
defendant cigarette manufacturers spend millions of dollars on
advertising in New Mexico, like the colorful cartoon character,
Joe Camel, which has enormous appeal to young people. Each year,
more New Mexico children and teenagers begin smoking.
5. The State of New Mexico seeks both monetary
damages and injunctive relief for the conduct alleged in this
Complaint. Among other things, the State of New Mexico seeks a
permanent injunction to require the defendants to disclose their
research on smoking, addiction and health, to fund a remedial
public education campaign on the health consequences of smoking
and to fund smoking cessation programs for nicotine-dependent
smokers.
THE PARTIES
6. Plaintiff is the State of New Mexico on the
relation of its Attorney General, Tom Udall. Plaintiff is acting
pursuant to his authority under inter alia, New
Mexico common law, Section 8-5-2 NMSA 1978, the New Mexico Unfair
Practices Act, §§57-12-2 et seq., NMSA 1978 (1995
Repl.), the New Mexico Racketeering Act, §§30-42-1 et seq.
NMSA 1978 (1996 Repl.) and the New Mexico Anti-Trust Act,
§§57-1-1 et seq. NMSA 1978 (1995 Repl.) Plaintiff
brings this action to obtain declaratory and equitable relief,
damages and restitution. Plaintiff seeks to recover the
smoking-related costs to the State of New Mexico, including, but
not limited to, increased expenditures for:
a. Medical assistance provided under New
Mexico's Medicaid program pursuant to the Public Assistance Act,
§§27-2-12 et seq. NMSA 1978 (1995 Repl. and 1996
Supp.). Under the medical assistance program, the State of New
Mexico pays for medical services provided to program recipients.
The State pays approximately 25% of these costs, with the federal
government bearing the remaining costs.
b. Public employees' health and disability
insurance coverage costs pursuant to the Group Benefits Act,
§10-7B-6 NMSA 1978 (1995 Repl.).
c. Public employees' disability retirement
pension costs pursuant to the Public Employees Retirement Act,
§10-11-10.1 NMSA 1978 (1995 Repl.).
d. Retired public employees' group health
insurance costs from the Retiree Health Care Fund, pursuant to
the Retiree Health Care Act, §10-7C-8 NMSA 1978 (1995 Repl.).
e. Public school employees and school board
retirees' group health insurance costs from the Public School
Insurance Fund, pursuant to the Public School Insurance Act,
§22-2-6.6 NMSA 1978 (1993 Repl.), and disability benefits from
the Educational Retirement Fund, pursuant to the Educational
Retirement Act, §§22-11-1 et seq., NMSA 1978
(1993 Repl.).
In fulfilling its statutory duties, the State
of New Mexico has expended and will expend substantial sums of
money due to the increased costs of providing health care
services for smoking-related diseases.
THE DEFENDANTS
7. The American Tobacco Company, Inc. is a
Delaware corporation whose principal place of business is located
at Six Stamford Forum, Stamford, Connecticut. On December 21,
1994, The American Tobacco Company was purchased by B.A.T.
Industries, P.L.C. who, on information and belief, has succeeded
to the liabilities of the American Tobacco Company by operation
of law or as a matter of fact. In 1995, on information and
belief, the American Tobacco Company was purchased by Brown &
Williamson and merged into Brown & Williamson. On information
and belief, Brown & Williamson has succeeded to the
liabilities of the American Tobacco Company either by operation
of law, or as matter of fact. Brown & Williamson is in trade
or commerce. The American Tobacco Company manufactured,
advertised and sold Lucky Strike, Pall Mall, Tareyton, Malibu,
American, Montclair, Newport, Misty, Barkeley, Iceberg, Silk Cut,
Silva Thins, Sobrania, Bull Durham and Carlton cigarettes
throughout the United States, including the State of New Mexico.
8. American Brands, Inc. is a Delaware
corporation whose principal place of business is located at 1700
East Putnam Avenue, Old Greenwich, Connecticut, 06870. American
Brands, Inc. is the parent corporation of or the successor in
interest to The American Tobacco Company and has participated in
the manufacture and distribution of cigarettes and other tobacco
products throughout the United States, including the State of New
Mexico, both individually and through its alter ego the defendant
American Tobacco Company.
9. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, is a New
Jersey corporation whose principal place of business is located
at Fourth and Main Streets, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. R. J.
Reynolds Tobacco Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of RJR
Nabisco, Inc., a Delaware corporation, whose principal place of
business is 1301 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York. R.
J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and RJR Nabisco, Inc. are both
Defendants herein and manufacture, advertise and sell Camel,
Vantage, Now, Doral, Winston, Sterling, Magna, More, Century,
Bright Rite and Salem cigarettes through the United States,
including the State of New Mexico.
10. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation
(individually and as successor by merger to The American Tobacco
Company), is a Delaware corporation. Batus, Inc., is the parent
of Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation and is a Wisconsin
corporation. Batus Holdings, Inc., is the parent of Batus, Inc.,
and is a Delaware corporation. All three corporations are named
as Defendants herein. The principal place of business of Brown
& Williamson Tobacco Corporation, Batus, Inc., and Batus
Holdings, Inc., is 1500 Brown & Williamson Tower, Louisville,
Kentucky. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation, Batus,
Inc., and Batus Holdings, Inc. manufacture, advertise and sell
Kool, Barclay, BelAir, Capri, Raleigh, Richland, Laredo, Eli
Cutter and Viceroy cigarettes throughout the United States,
including the State of New Mexico.
11. British American Tobacco Co., Ltd. is a
British corporation whose principal place of business is
Millbank, Knowle Green, Staines, Middlesex, England TW181DY.
Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation is or was a subsidiary
or division of British American Tobacco Co., Ltd.
12. B.A.T. Industries P.L.C. (hereinafter
"B.A.T. Industries") is a British corporation with its
principal place of business at Windsor House, 50 Victoria St.,
London. Through a succession of intermediary corporations and
holding companies, B.A.T. Industries P.L.C. is the shareholder of
Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation. Through Brown &
Williamson, B.A.T. Industries P.L.C. has placed cigarettes into
the stream of commerce with expectation that substantial sales of
cigarettes would be made in the United States. In addition,
B.A.T. Industries P.L.C. conducted, or through its agents and/or
co-conspirators conducted, critical research for Brown &
Williamson Corporation on the issue of smoking and health.
Further, Brown & Williamson is believed to have sent to
England research conducted in the United States on the issue of
smoking and health in an attempt to remove sensitive and
inculpatory documents from United States jurisdiction, and these
documents were subject to the control of B.A.T. Industries P.L.C.
B.A.T. Industries P.L.C. has been involved in the conspiracy
described herein and the actions of B.A.T. Industries P.L.C. has
affected and caused harm throughout the United States, including
the State of New Mexico.
13. Philip Morris Incorporated, and its
parent, Philip Morris Companies, Inc., are Virginia corporations
whose principal place of business is located at 120 Park Avenue,
New York, New York. Both corporations are named Defendants
herein. Philip Morris, Inc., and Philip Morris Companies, Inc.,
manufacture, advertise and sell Philip Morris, Merit, Cambridge,
Marlboro, Benson & Hedges, Virginia Slims, Alpine, Dunhill,
English Ovals, Galaxy, Players, Saratoga and Parliament
cigarettes throughout the United States, including the State of
New Mexico.
14. Lorillard Tobacco Company and Lorillard,
Inc., and their parent, Loews Corporation, are Delaware
corporations whose principal place of business is located at One
Park Avenue, New York, New York. All three corporations are named
Defendants herein. Lorillard Tobacco Company, Inc., Lorillard,
Inc., and Loews Corporation manufacture, advertise and sell Old
Gold, Kent, Triumph, Satin, Max, Spring, Newport and True
cigarettes throughout the United States, including the State of
New Mexico.
15. United States Tobacco Company, and its
parent, UST Inc., are Delaware corporations who principal place
of business is located at 100 West Putnam Avenue, Greenwich,
Connecticut. Both corporations are named Defendants herein.
United States Tobacco Company and UST Inc., manufacture and sell
Sano cigarettes throughout the United States, including the State
of New Mexico.
16. Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Inc. is
a New Mexico corporation with its principal place of business
located at 1368 Cerrillos Road, Sante Fe, New Mexico, 87501.
Sante Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Inc. manufactures and sells
Natural American Spirit Regular Filter, Natural American Spirit
Menthol Filter, Natural American Spirit Mild and Natural American
Spirit Non-filter cigarettes as well as rolling tobacco
throughout the United States, including the State of New Mexico.
17. The Tobacco Institute, Inc., is a New York
corporation, whose principal place of business is located at 1875
"I" Street, N. W., Suite 800, Washington, D.C. The
Tobacco Institute, Inc., at all relevant times operated as the
public relations and lobbying arm of the Defendant tobacco
companies. At all relevant times, The Tobacco Institute, Inc.,
was an agent and/or employee of the Defendant tobacco companies.
In doing the things alleged herein, The Tobacco Institute, Inc.,
was acting within the course and scope of its agency or
employment, and was acting with the consent, permission, and
authorization of each of the Defendant tobacco companies. All
actions of The Tobacco Institute, Inc. ("TI") alleged
herein were ratified and approved by the officers or managing
agents of the Defendant tobacco companies.
18. The Council for Tobacco Research - U.S.A.,
Inc. ("CTR"), successor in interest to the Tobacco
Industry Research Committee ("TIRC"), is a non-profit
corporation organized under the laws of the State of New York
with its principal place of business at 900 3rd Avenue, New York,
New York 10022.
19. General Distributors, Inc. is a New Mexico
corporation, organized under the laws of the State of New Mexico,
with its agent for service of process in Bernalillo County, New
Mexico, and at all relevant times hereto was qualified to do and
was doing business in the State of New Mexico as a wholesale
distributor of the tobacco products manufactured by the Defendant
tobacco companies.
20. Core-Mark Mid Continent, Inc. is an
Arkansas corporation, in good standing and authorized to do
business in the State of New Mexico corporation, organized under
the laws of the State of Arkansas, with its agent for service of
process in Sante Fe County, New Mexico, and at all relevant times
hereto was qualified to do and was doing business in the State of
New Mexico as a wholesale distributor of the tobacco products
manufactured by the Defendant tobacco companies.
21. Gem State Distributors, Inc., is an Idaho
corporation, in good standing and authorized to do business in
the State of New Mexico corporation, organized under the laws of
the State of Idaho, with its agent for service of process in
Bernalillo County, New Mexico, and at all relevant times hereto
was qualified to do and was doing business in the State of New
Mexico as a wholesale distributor of the tobacco products
manufactured by the Defendant tobacco companies.
22. The Defendants identified in paragraphs
19, 20 and 21 above are hereafter referred to as "the
Distributor Defendants." All the remaining Defendants are
referred to as "the Manufacturer Defendants." Where
necessary, all Defendants are referred to collectively as
"Defendants."
23. Defendants did and continue to do business
in the State of New Mexico; made contracts to be performed in
whole or in part in the State of New Mexico; and/or manufactured,
tested, sold, offered for sale, supplied, or placed cigarettes in
the stream of commerce, or in the course of business, materially
participated with others in so doing; and performed such acts as
were intended to, and did, result in the sale and distribution in
the State of New Mexico of cigarettes from which Defendants
derived substantial revenue. Defendants also caused tortious
injury by acts or omissions in the State of New Mexico, and/or
caused tortious injury in the State of New Mexico by acts or
omissions outside the State of New Mexico.
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
24. This Court has jurisdiction over the
subject matter of this action pursuant to, inter alia,
Article VI, Section 13 of the New Mexico Constitution.
25. Venue is proper in Santa Fe County
pursuant to Section 38-3-1 NMSA 1978. The Attorney General
resides in Santa Fe County.
FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS
I. The Nicotine in Cigarettes is Highly
Addictive.
26. Manufacturer Defendants reap enormous
profits from their manufacture and sale of cigarettes throughout
the United States, including the State of New Mexico.
Manufacturer Defendants' earnings in the last year alone exceeded
six billion dollars. Manufacturer Defendants, make, advertise and
sell cigarettes despite their knowledge of the following facts:
More than 10 million Americans have died as a result of smoking
cigarettes; more than 400,000 Americans die every year as a
result of smoking cigarettes; almost one death in every five is
due to a smoking-related illness; the leading cause of
preventable death in the United States today is smoking
cigarettes; smoking causes cardiovascular disease and is
responsible for approximately one-third of all heart disease
deaths; smoking causes almost all lung and throat cancers and is
responsible for approximately one-tenth of all cancer deaths;
smoking causes various pulmonary diseases, including emphysema;
smoking causes stillbirths and neonatal deaths among the babies
of mothers who smoke; and cigarettes may contain any number of
approximately 700 "additives", including a number of
toxic and dangerous chemicals. Congressman Henry W. Waxman (D.
Calif.), former Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Health and
the Environment, has stated "that cigarettes are the single
most dangerous consumer product ever sold".
27. Despite the overwhelming weight of the
scientific evidence that smoking cigarettes poses serious health
risks, and despite the gruesome statistical legacy being left by
Manufacturer Defendants, hundreds of thousands of New Mexico
residents continue to smoke cigarettes, including many new
teenage smokers everyday, because they are addicted to or are
dependent upon these products. More specifically, they are
addicted to nicotine, the drug in tobacco that causes an
addiction similar to that suffered by users of heroin and
cocaine.
28. Cigarettes contain nicotine. Nicotine is
an addictive substance and the use of cigarettes results in
addiction to them. Nicotine causes compulsive use of cigarettes,
despite knowledge that they are harmful, if not lethal; nicotine
has a psychoactive (mood-altering) effect in the brain; and,
nicotine invokes what is called "reinforcing behavior",
causing continued use of the nicotine-containing products.
Cigarette smokers suffer an inability to quit, notwithstanding a
desire to do so, and those who do quit (or attempt to) endure
withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, insomnia, depression, lack
of concentration, and anxiety.
29. The addictive power of nicotine is further
illustrated by these statistical facts: at least two-thirds of
adults who smoke say they wish they could quit; 17 million
Americans try to quit smoking each year, but fewer than 1 out of
10 succeed; for every smoker who quits 9 try and fail; 8 out of
10 smokers say they wish they had never started smoking; after
surgery for lung cancer, almost half of the smokers resumed
smoking; among smokers who suffer heart attack, 38% resume
smoking while they are still in the hospital; even when a smoker
has their larynx removed, 40% try smoking again; 70% of young
people ages 12 to 18 who smoke say they believe they are already
dependent on cigarettes; and 40% of high school seniors who smoke
regularly have tried to quit and failed. According to David A.
Kessler, M.D., Commissioner of the United States Food and Drug
Administration, "once they have started regularly, most
smokers are in effect deprived of the choice to stop smoking . .
. . Seventeen million Americans try to quit smoking each year.
But, more than fifteen million are unable to exercise that choice
because they cannot break their addiction to cigarettes."
30. The 1988 Surgeon General's Report,
"The Health Consequences of Smoking: Nicotine
Addiction" contained these conclusions:
A) "Cigarettes and other forms of tobacco
are addicting";
B) "Nicotine is the drug in tobacco that
causes addiction"; and
C) "The pharmacologic and behavioral
processes that determine tobacco addiction are similar to those
that determine addiction to drugs such as heroin and
cocaine." Nicotine in cigarettes is now recognized as an
addictive substance by such major medical organizations as the
Office of U. S. Surgeon General, the World Health Organization,
the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric
Association, the American Psychological Association, the American
Society of Addiction Medicine, the American Public Health
Association, and the Medical Research Council in the United
Kingdom. The National Institute on Drug Abuse recently called
cigarette smoking the most common example of drug dependence in
the United States.
31. Despite the recent recognition of
nicotine's addictive properties by these and other organizations,
Manufacturer Defendants continue to misinform New Mexico
residents. Although it now appears that Manufacturer Defendants
have known for decades, on the basis of their own long-concealed
research and testing, that nicotine is addictive, they have
denied, and continue to deny, that nicotine is addictive.
II. Despite Its Knowledge that Nicotine is
Addictive, Manufacturer Defendants Falsely Claim that Nicotine is
not Addictive.
32. By no later than the early 1960's, and
perhaps as early as the 1940s, Manufacturer Defendants, or some
of them, were fully aware, based on their own scientific
research, that nicotine is an addictive substance and that
regular cigarette smoking results in nicotine dependence. The
remaining Defendants became aware of these facts over time, and
participate in the wrongful acts alleged herein. For example, an
internal Philip Morris report from 1971 describes the
difficulties a smoker has in stopping smoking once they are
addicted to nicotine. "Even after eight months, quitters
were apt to report having neurotic symptoms, such as feeling
depressed, being restless and tense, being ill-tempered, having a
loss of energy, being apt to doze off, etc. They were further
troubled by constipation and weight gains . . . ."
33. An internal report written in 1973 by
William J. Dunn, Jr., a senior scientist with Philip Morris, says
the following:
The primary incentive to cigarette smoking is
the immediate salutatory effect of inhaled smoke upon body
function . . . . As with eating and copulating, so it is with
smoking. The physiological effects serve as the primary
incentive; all other incentives are secondary . . . . Without
nicotine, the argument goes, there would be no smoking. Some
strong evidence can be marshaled to this argument:
(1) No one has ever become a cigarette smoker
by smoking cigarettes without nicotine.
(2) Most of the physiological responses to
inhaled smoke have been shown to be nicotine-related.
34. Another internal Philip Morris document,
this one from 1981, acknowledges that:
Nicotine is a powerful pharmacological agent
with multiple sites of action and may be the most important
component of cigarette smoke. Nicotine and an understanding of
its properties are important to the continued well being of our
cigarette business since this "alkaloid has been cited often
as the reason for smoking" and theories have been advanced
for "nicotine titration" by the smoker. Nicotine is
known to have effects on the central nervous system as
influencing memory, learning, pain perception, response to
stress, and level of arousal.
35. Patent filings by some of Manufacturer
Defendants further reveal their knowledge of the addictive
quality of nicotine. In a 1971 patent filing, Philip Morris
discusses maintaining the "nicotine content at a
sufficiently high level to provide the desired physiological
activity." Years of numerous patent filings by Manufacturer
Defendants underscore the industry's knowledge that nicotine is
addictive.
36. Despite their knowledge that cigarette
smoking is, as a result of nicotine, extremely addictive,
Manufacturer Defendants still continue to deny that smoking is
addictive. Through their individual advertising and public
relations campaigns, and collectively through the work of the TI,
Manufacturer Defendants have successfully promoted and sold
cigarettes by concealing and misrepresenting their highly
addictive nature. The Congressional Subcommittee on Health and
the Environment commenced a public hearing March 25, 1994, on the
potential regulation of nicotine-containing products under the
Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. In the wake of the March 25,
1994, Congressional Hearings, spokespersons for the TI and
Manufacturer Defendants have denied in nationwide television
broadcasts and print publications that nicotine is addictive. On
April 14, 1994, the chief executives of some of Manufacturer
Defendants testified under oath before Congress and told the
American public that nicotine is not addictive. Following the
appearance of Manufacturer Defendants' executives before
Congress, Philip Morris took out full-page newspaper ads that
stated, in part: "Philip Morris does not believe cigarette
smoking is addictive."
37. The American public is only now beginning
to learn about the measures taken by the Manufacturer Defendants
to conceal the truth about nicotine. On March 31, 1994,
Congressman Waxman released a copy of a previously secret Philip
Morris-funded research study substantiating the addictive nature
of nicotine. Philip Morris scientists, upon conducting tests,
found strong evidence that nicotine might be addicting, which
suggested further testing should be done. The experiment used in
the study -- self-administration by rats -- is one of the primary
tests used by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S.
Drug Enforcement Agency, and the World Health Organization to
determine whether a drug is addictive. The research was submitted
in 1983 to the scientific journal Psychopharmacology and was
accepted for publication. Prior to publication, the journal was
notified by the scientist that the article was being withdrawn
"due to factors beyond [his] control." The scientist
subsequently left Philip Morris, and in 1986, resubmitted a
revised version of the article to the journal. After the article
was accepted for publication again, the scientist was forced to
withdraw it by Philip Morris.
38. If Manufacturer Defendants had disclosed
their knowledge of the addictive nature of nicotine when they
first acquired this knowledge, then the public would have learned
about the addictiveness of nicotine many years ago. As a result,
the scientific and medical community would have had access to
critical secrets on the subject, which would have resulted in a
more rapid popular determination and consensus on the subject.
Manufacturer Defendants concealed and continue to attempt to
conceal the truth about nicotine in order to sustain the
addictions of existing cigarette smokers and to "hook"
thousands of new smokers every day, so that Manufacturer
Defendants can continue to profit at the expense of the lives and
health of the American public.
39. Not only do Defendants know and conceal
that nicotine is an addictive drug, Plaintiff is informed and
believes that Manufacturer Defendants intend that their products
contain sufficient nicotine to satisfy addiction on the part of
smokers, and therefore control the levels and/or bioavailability
of nicotine in these products to create and sustain the
addiction. It is this scheme to deceive New Mexicans that enables
Manufacturer Defendants to sell their life-threatening products
to tens of thousands of New Mexicans as their captive customers.
III. Manufacturer Defendants Manipulate the
Level and/or Bioavailability of Nicotine in Cigarettes With the
Intent and for the Purpose of Creating and Sustaining Addictions
to their Products.
40. Plaintiff is informed and believes that
Manufacturer Defendants control, or manipulate, the levels and/or
bioavailability of nicotine in cigarettes. Manufacturer
Defendants, or some of them, developed technology years ago to
remove nicotine from tobacco and to control precisely the amount
of nicotine in cigarettes. Nevertheless, Manufacturer Defendants
continue to manufacture, market and sell their products with
levels and/or bioavailability of nicotine that are sufficient to
produce and sustain addiction. Rather than remove nicotine from
cigarettes and smokeless tobacco -- and hence remove the
addictive drug contained therein -- Manufacturer Defendants add
nicotine to their cigarettes, through a variety of methods, to
maintain levels and/or bioavailability of nicotine sufficient to
make their cigarettes addictive to consumers.
41. Manufacturer Defendants prepare a
substantial portion of the contents of their cigarettes through
what is called a "Reconstitution process". Prior to the
1940s, the waste products from cigarettes -- tobacco leaf scraps
and stems, dried tobacco dust, adhesive reinforcing fibers,
mineral ash modifiers, humectants, and some other inexpensive
materials -- were discarded. Thereafter, Manufacturer Defendants
began to use these previously unusable materials to make
reconstituted tobacco. As part of the process, Manufacturer
Defendants removed ingredients from these materials at an early
stage of the process and replaced some of the nicotine in later
stages. The reconstitution process allows Manufacturer Defendants
to manufacture cigarettes at a lower cost by using less tobacco,
which is the most expensive part of the cigarette, and by making
up the difference in content with the reconstituted tobacco. By
removing the nicotine and then carefully replacing as much
nicotine as desired, Manufacturer Defendants are able to control
the precise amount of nicotine in cigarettes.
42. LTR Industries, at the relevant time a
subsidiary of Kimberly-Clarke Corporation, specializes in the
tobacco reconstitution process and, as LTR says, in helping
tobacco companies "control" their nicotine. The LTR
reconstitution process is the most widely used in the world. An
LTR advertisement, entitled "More Nicotine, Or Less,"
published in tobacco trade publications states:
Nicotine levels are becoming a growing concern
to the designers of modern cigarettes, particularly those with
lower "tar" deliveries. The Kimberly-Clarke tobacco
reconstitution process, used by LTR Industries, permits
adjustments of nicotine to your exact requirements. These
adjustments will not affect the other important properties of
customized reconstituted tobacco produced at LTR Industries: low
tar delivery, high filling power, high yield, and the flexibility
to convey organoleptic modifications. We can help you control
your tobacco.
In fact, the process described in the LTR
advertisement can raise the level and/or bioavailability of
nicotine beyond that which is naturally found in tobacco
materials. In 1985, a Tobacco Journal article describing the LTR
process states: "Those standard reconstituted Tobacco
Products contained 0.7-1.0 nicotine. LTR Industries offers the
possibility of increasing the nicotine content of the final sheet
to a maximum of 3.5% . . . . A dramatic increase in tobacco taste
and smoke is noted in the nicotine- fortified reconstituted
tobacco."
43. Without informing New Mexicans,
Manufacturer Defendants have long viewed cigarettes in terms of
their nicotine delivery function. For example, Philip Morris'
William L. Dunn Jr., wrote in a 1973 internal memorandum:
Why then is there not a market for nicotine
per se, to be eaten, sucked, drunk, injected, inserted or inhaled
as a pure aerosol? The answer, and I feel quite strongly about
this, is that the cigarette is in fact among the most
awe-inspiring examples of the ingenuity of man . . . .
The cigarette should be conceived not as a
product, but as a package. The product is nicotine. The cigarette
is but one of many package layers. There is the carton, which
contains the pack, which contains the cigarette, which contains
the smoke. The smoke is the final package. The smoker must rip
off all of these packaged layers to get to that which he seeks .
. . . Think of the cigarette as a storage container for [a] days'
supply of nicotine . . . . Think of the cigarette as a dispenser
for a dose unit of nicotine . . . . Think of a puff of smoke as
the vehicle for nicotine . . . . Smoke is beyond question the
most optimized vehicle of nicotine and the cigarette the most
optimized dispenser of smoke . . . .
Likewise, a 1981 Lorillard study indicates
that "current research is directed toward increasing the
nicotine levels while maintaining or marginally reducing the tar
deliveries."
44. Evidence of Manufacturer Defendants'
intent and ability to manipulate nicotine in cigarettes at a
sufficiently high level and/or bioavailability to provide the
"desired physiological activity" is found in years of
patent applications. Some of Defendants' patent applications
illustrate an intent and ability to control the amount of
nicotine in cigarettes; to provide desired physiological effects;
to increase nicotine content in cigarettes by adding nicotine to
various parts of the cigarette; to manipulate nicotine levels
and/or bioavailability in cigarettes; and to manipulate the rate
at which the nicotine is delivered in the cigarettes. For
example:
A. A 1966 Philip Morris patent application
discusses an invention that "permits the release into
tobacco smoke, in controlled amounts, of desirable flavorants, as
well as the release, in controlled amounts and when desired, of
nicotine into tobacco smoke.
B. A 1971 Philip Morris patent states:
It has long been known in the Tobacco Industry
that in order to provide a satisfactory smoke, it is desirable to
maintain a nicotine content of Tobacco Products at a uniform
level. However, it is difficult to accomplish this result since
the nicotine content of tobacco varies widely, depending on the
type of tobacco and the conditions under which the tobacco was
grown.
Maintaining the nicotine content at a
sufficiently high level to provide the desired physiological
activity, taste, and odor which this material imparts to the
smoke, without raising the nicotine content through an
undesirably high level, can thus be seen to be a significant
problem in the tobacco art. The addition of nicotine to tobacco
in such a way that it remains inert and stable in the product,
and yet is released in a controlled amount into the smoke aerosol
when the tobacco is paralyzed, is a result which is greatly
desirable.
The present invention provides a solution to
this longstanding problem and results in accurate control of the
nicotine which is released in tobacco smoke. By employing the
nicotine-releasing agents in methods of the present invention, it
is possible to incorporate exact amounts of nicotine into tobacco
composition, which will remain constant over extended periods of
time and which will ultimately yield a smoke containing a
controlled amount of nicotine.
C. Another 1971 Philip Morris patent
application discusses a design to increase the nicotine content
in the smoke of the tobacco product by adding nicotine. One of
the expressed objects of the invention was to "provide an
agent for the treatment of tobacco smoke whereby nicotine is
easily released under controlled amounts." The same Philip
Morris application explains that the proposed invention "is
particularly useful for the maintenance of the proper amount of
nicotine in tobacco smoke," and notes that "previous
efforts have been made to add nicotine to Tobacco Products when
the nicotine level in the tobacco was undesirably low."
D. A 1980 Loews Corporation patent application
discusses a process that "enables the manipulation of the
nicotine content of tobacco material, such as cut leaf and
reconstituted leaf, by removal of nicotine from a suitable
nicotine tobacco source, or by the addition of nicotine to a low
nicotine material."
E. A 1986 R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company patent
indicates that Manufacturer Defendants can precisely manipulate
the rate at which the nicotine is delivered in the cigarette:
"It is a further object of this invention to provide a
cigarette which delivers a larger amount of nicotine in the first
few puffs of the cigarette than in the last few puffs."
F. A 1991 R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company patent
application states that "processed tobaccos can be
manufactured under conditions suitable to provide products having
various nicotine levels."
45. Information about Manufacturer Defendants'
manipulation of the nicotine level and/or bioavailability in
cigarettes, with the intent and purpose of creating and
sustaining addictions to their cigarettes, has only recently come
to the public's attention. An ABC television show, "Day
One," broadcast an episode February 28, 1994, entitled,
"Smokescreen -- Cigarette Companies and Nicotine
Levels," during which "Day One's" investigators
reported their findings that Manufacturer Defendants have been
carefully controlling the levels and/or bioavailability of
nicotine in their products for years. "Day One's"
investigators reported that, to verify that nicotine is being
added to reconstituted tobacco in cigarettes, they went to the
American Health Foundation which analyzed the reconstituted
tobacco portion of several brands of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco
Company cigarettes. According to "Day One," the samples
tested had up to 70% of the nicotine that would be found in
regular tobacco.
46. During the March 25, 1994, Congressional
Hearings, FDA Commissioner Dr. David Kessler testified that
accumulating evidence suggests that Manufacturer Defendants
"may be controlling smokers' choice by controlling the level
of nicotine in their products in a manner that creates and
sustains an addiction in the vast majority of smokers." Dr.
Kessler went on to say that some of "today's cigarettes may,
in fact, qualify as high technology nicotine delivery systems
that deliver nicotine in precisely calculated quantities --
quantities that are more than sufficient to create and sustain an
addiction in the vast majority of individuals who smoke
regularly." During the March 25, 1994 Hearing, Dr. Kessler
and others presented evidence of Manufacturer Defendants'
manipulation of nicotine levels and/or bioavailability, including
reference to internal memoranda and more than 30 industry
patents, several of which are identified in paragraph 33, above.
47. Just as Manufacturer Defendants deny that
the nicotine contained in cigarettes is addictive, through their
individual advertising and public relations campaigns and
collectively through the TI, Manufacturer Defendants have denied
unequivocally that they are engaged in controlling the level
and/or bioavailability of nicotine in cigarettes for the purpose
of developing and sustaining addiction to their products. Since
the "Day One" program broadcast by ABC and the March
24, 1994 Congressional Hearings, spokespeople for Manufacturer
Defendants, or some of them, have in nationwide television
broadcasts and publications denied all the charges that
Manufacturer Defendants manipulate nicotine levels and/or
bioavailability in cigarettes. During their appearance before
Congress on April 14, 1994, the chief executives of each of
Manufacturer Defendants testified that their companies do not
manipulate nicotine levels in or otherwise add nicotine to their
cigarettes to create or sustain addiction to their products.
TOLLING OF THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS
48. Defendants have fraudulently concealed the
facts as alleged above.
49. Manufacturer Defendants were under a duty
to disclose their manipulation of nicotine levels and/or
bioavailability in their cigarettes because this is non-public
information over which they had exclusive control, and because
they knew that this information was not generally available to
New Mexicans and the Plaintiff.
COUNT I
QUANTUM MERUIT FROM UNJUST ENRICHMENT
(ALL DEFENDANTS)
50. Plaintiff re-alleges by reference the
preceding paragraphs of this Complaint.
51. Defendants here realized significant
profits from the manufacture, distribution and sale of tobacco
and tobacco products in New Mexico. Such manufacture,
distribution and sale has caused residents of New Mexico to
suffer illnesses and diseases.
52. Plaintiff has expended substantial sums of
money in the form of Medicaid reimbursements and reimbursements
from other New Mexico government programs, described in paragraph
6 of this Complaint, to hospitals, health care providers and
individuals for the treatment of tobacco and tobacco product
related illnesses and diseases.
53. Defendants have not contributed to the
expenditure of said sums of money for treatment, and those
payments have not met the costs of treatment of tobacco and
tobacco product related illnesses and diseases.
54. Defendants have rather wrongfully
appropriated to themselves the profits from manufacture,
distribution and sale of tobacco and tobacco products.
55. Defendants' wrongful appropriation of
profits from causing illness and disease has given them an unjust
enrichment to the extent of the costs to Plaintiff as alleged.
56. Defendants' conduct has created a
quasi-contract by which Defendants owe Plaintiff in quantum
meruit the costs of treatment of tobacco and tobacco product
related illnesses and diseases.
COUNT II
FRAUD
(ALL DEFENDANTS)
57. Plaintiff re-alleges the preceding
paragraphs of this Complaint.
58. As more fully set forth above, Defendants
have made false representations regarding the serious adverse
health effects of cigarettes and the addictive properties of
cigarettes.
59. Defendants knew that these representations
were false at the time they were made, or made the
representations with reckless disregard as to whether they were
true or false.
60. As more fully set forth above, Defendants
knowingly failed to disclose and actively took steps to conceal
material information known to Defendants regarding the serious
adverse health effects of cigarettes and the addictive properties
of cigarettes.
61. Defendants failed to disclose these
material facts and actively took steps to conceal them in order
to induce unsuspecting members of the public to purchase and
consume tobacco and tobacco-related products.
62. Defendants made the representations and
material omissions with the intent to deceive and to induce
Plaintiff and members of the public to rely on the
representations to their detriment.
63. Plaintiff as well as hundreds of thousands
of New Mexicans did in fact rely to their detriment on
Defendants' false representations and material omissions.
64. As a direct and proximate result of
Defendants' false representations and material omissions,
thousands of New Mexicans, and Plaintiff, have suffered damages.
COUNT III
NEGLIGENT PERFORMANCE OF A VOLUNTARY
UNDERTAKING
(MANUFACTURER DEFENDANTS)
65. Plaintiff re-alleges the preceding
paragraphs of this Complaint.
66. Manufacturer Defendants, or some of them,
represented in the January 4, 1954 edition of the Albuquerque
Journal that they would undertake a special responsibility
and duty to citizens of New Mexico, and the State of New Mexico:
to aid and assist the research effort into all aspects of tobacco
use and human health; to continue to research and otherwise
undertake all possible efforts to learn all the facts and to
discover the truth about smoking and health; and finally, to
disclose to the State and its citizens complete and accurate
information about the effects of cigarette smoking on human
health.
67. Manufacturer Defendants, or some of them,
recognized that their undertaking was necessary for the
protection of the public health and that their conduct and
representations would affect the smoking habits and health of the
citizens of the State and the cost of health care.
68. Manufacturer Defendants failed to exercise
reasonable care to protect the health of the citizens of the
State.
69. Manufacturer Defendants have breached and
continue to breach their responsibility and duty by failing to
exercise reasonable care in carrying out their undertaking.
Manufacturer Defendants' failure to use reasonable care in
performing that duty that they voluntarily undertook to perform
has increased the risk of harm to the public and increased the
cost of health care for the State.
70. As a direct and proximate result of
Manufacturer Defendants' conduct, Plaintiff has suffered and will
continue to suffer substantial injuries and damages for which it
is entitled to recovery.
COUNT IV
PRODUCTS LIABILITY
(MANUFACTURER DEFENDANTS)
71. Plaintiff re-alleges the preceding
paragraphs of this Complaint.
72. Manufacturer Defendants manufactured,
distributed and sold tobacco products in New Mexico.
73. Manufacturer Defendants' product contained
nicotine, a substance they knew was addictive to users of their
product.
74. Those products were defective and
unreasonably dangerous and proximately caused serious and severe
health problems, including heart disease, lung cancer and
respiratory illnesses, in the consumers of Manufacturer
Defendants' products.
75. Manufacturer Defendants knew of these
defects and withheld this knowledge from consumers.
76. Manufacturer Defendants were aware of
remedial actions they could have taken to eliminate or lessen the
detrimental effects of the use of their products.
77. Manufacturer Defendants consciously
decided not to undertake the remedial actions to reduce or
eliminate the dangers of their products. Manufacturer Defendants
purposely withheld information regarding such remedial actions
from consumers and regulators.
78. It was reasonably foreseeable to
Manufacturer Defendants that as a result of their conduct as
alleged, Plaintiff would sustain the injuries alleged.
COUNT V
BREACH OF IMPLIED WARRANTY
(ALL DEFENDANTS)
79. Plaintiff re-alleges the preceding
paragraphs of this Complaint.
80. By the manufacture, sale and distribution
of tobacco and tobacco products, Defendants warranted the
merchantability of those goods to be fit for the purpose of
pleasurable consumption by smoking.
81. Defendants' tobacco and tobacco products
have been unfit for the ordinary purposes for which they were
intended.
82. This lack of fitness has caused illness,
disease and death in a large number of New Mexicans who use and
have used tobacco and tobacco products.
83. It was reasonably foreseeable that
Defendants' breach of the implied warranty of merchantability
would, and the same did, proximately cause the losses to
Plaintiff alleged herein.
COUNT VI
BREACH OF EXPRESS WARRANTY
(MANUFACTURER DEFENDANTS)
84. Plaintiff re-alleges the preceding
paragraphs of this Complaint.
85. From approximately 1954 until the present
Manufacturer Defendants, or some of them, have represented to the
public that they would study the health effects of smoking and
disclose the results of the studies to the public.
86. Manufacturer Defendants' representation
that they would disclose health hazards created an express
warranty that they would not sell tobacco and tobacco products if
they created health hazards.
87. Manufacturer Defendants knew or should
have known of the existence of scientific research that tended to
demonstrate health hazards arising from smoking tobacco, did not
communicate the information from the scientific studies, but
nonetheless continued the manufacture, distribution and sale of
tobacco and tobacco products.
88. Manufacturer Defendants' breach of their
express warranty not to sell tobacco and tobacco products if
negative scientific studies about tobacco products existed caused
numerous New Mexico residents to begin and to continue smoking
tobacco and tobacco products.
89. Numerous New Mexico residents have
suffered illnesses, disease and death as a result of their use of
tobacco and tobacco products.
90. Manufacturer Defendants' breach of the
express warranty as alleged herein proximately caused Plaintiff
to suffer the damages alleged herein.
COUNT VII
FAILURE TO WARN
(ALL DEFENDANTS)
91. Plaintiff re-alleges the preceding
paragraphs of this Complaint.
92. Defendants knew, or should have known,
that the nicotine in cigarettes can create a dependency or
addiction in persons who smoke. As such, defendants had a duty to
give adequate warning to the citizens of the State as to the
potential of nicotine in cigarettes for creating dependence or
addiction.
93. Defendants, however, failed to give
adequate warning as to cigarettes' potential for creating
dependence or addiction. Therefore, persons who might have been
aware of the health hazards of smoking, but who were not aware of
the potential dependency created by nicotine, may have begun
smoking, and persons who have begun smoking may not continue
voluntarily because of their dependency on nicotine even though
they may be aware of the health hazards of smoking.
94. Defendants have breached and continue to
breach their duty to warn the citizens of New Mexico of the
potential for dependence on or addiction to the nicotine in
cigarettes.
95. As a direct and proximate result of
defendants' conduct, Plaintiff has suffered and will continue to
suffer substantial injuries and damages as alleged for which it
is entitled to recovery.
COUNT VIII
CIVIL CONSPIRACY
(ALL DEFENDANTS)
96. Plaintiff re-alleges the preceding
paragraphs of this Complaint.
97. Beginning at least as early as the 1950's,
and continuing until the present day, Defendants entered into a
civil conspiracy with the intentional and unlawful purpose and
effect of restraining and suppressing research on the harmful
effects of smoking; restraining and suppressing the dissemination
of information on the harmful effects of smoking; engaging in
affirmative misrepresentations on the harmful effects of smoking;
and restraining and suppressing the research, development,
production, and marketing of a safer cigarette. In furtherance of
Defendants' conspiracy, Defendants lent encouragement,
substantial assistance, and otherwise aided and abetted each
other with respect to these wrongful acts.
98. Defendants agreed to act jointly and to
cooperate with each other in this conspiracy in order to seek to
mislead the public. Through their united efforts of
misrepresentation and concealment over the last four decades,
Defendants have managed to control the medical and scientific
information concerning smoking and health and thereby ensure,
through joint representations and concealment, that the public
remains ignorant of the true facts about smoking and health.
99. In furtherance of this conspiracy,
Manufacturer Defendants formed the TIRC, its successor CTR and
the TI, whose true purpose was not to discover and disclose the
facts about smoking and health, but falsely to gain the public's
confidence so that the cigarette manufacturers could suppress and
conceal those facts more effectively.
100. The TIRC, CTR and TI actively
participated in the conspiracy to conceal, suppress and diffuse
all medical and scientific information about the hazards of
cigarette smoking.
101. As a result, tobacco consumers became
seriously ill and required medical care for which the State of
New Mexico was required to pay. The State of New Mexico is now
entitled to recover such damages.
102. As a direct and proximate result of
Defendants' wrongful conduct committed pursuant to the
conspiracy, Plaintiff has suffered and will continue to suffer
substantial injuries and damages.
103. As a direct and proximate result of
Defendants' wrongful conduct committed pursuant to the
conspiracy, Defendants are jointly and severally liable with
respect to each cause of action described above.
COUNT IX
VIOLATIONS OF THE NEW MEXICO
UNFAIR PRACTICES ACT
(ALL DEFENDANTS)
104. Plaintiff re-alleges the preceding
paragraphs of this Complaint.
105. The New Mexico Unfair Practices Act,
Section 57-12-2 NMSA 1978, provides in part:
D. "unfair or deceptive trade
practice" means any false or misleading oral or written
statement, visual description or other representation of any kind
knowingly made in connection with the sale ... of goods or
services ... by any person in the regular course of his trade or
commerce, which may, tends to or does deceive or mislead any
person and includes but is not limited to:
(5) representing that goods or services have
characteristics, ingredients, uses, benefits ... that they do not
have...;
(7) representing that goods or services are of
a particular standard, quality or grade ... if they are of
another;
(14) using exaggeration, innuendo or ambiguity
as to a material fact or failing to state a material fact if
doing so deceives or tends to deceive.
E. "unconscionable trade practice"
means any act or practices in connection with the sale ... or in
connection with the offering for sale ... of any goods or
services ... which to a person's detriment:
(1) takes advantage of the lack of knowledge,
ability, experience or capacity of a person to a grossly unfair
degree.
106. Defendants, by engaging in the conduct
described above, have violated and continue to violate the New
Mexico Unfair Practices Act. Defendants' wrongful conduct
includes but is not limited to:
a. Defendants' fraudulent, false, misleading
and deceptive statements and practices relating to the issue of
smoking and health, including intentional misrepresentations that
there is no causal connection between cigarette smoking and
adverse health effects and that cigarette smoking is not
addictive;
b. Defendants' fraudulent, false, misleading
and deceptive statements and practices relating to the industry's
false promises to conduct and disclose objective research on the
issue of smoking and health;
c. Defendants' fraudulent concealment of
information relating to the issue of smoking and health and
failure to disclose material facts, including intentional
concealment and failure to disclose material facts related to the
adverse health effects related to cigarette smoking and the fact
that cigarette smoking is addictive.
107. Defendants' violations of the Unfair
Practices Act were and continue to be willful.
108. Unless enjoined from doing so, Defendants
will continue to violate the New Mexico Unfair Practices Act.
109. As a direct and proximate result of
Defendants' wrongful conduct, the State of New Mexico has
suffered and will continue to suffer substantial damage and
injury.
COUNT X
VIOLATIONS OF THE NEW MEXICO RACKETEERING
ACT
(MANUFACTURER DEFENDANTS)
110. Plaintiff re-alleges the preceding
paragraphs of this Complaint.
111. Manufacturer Defendants have operated as
an association in fact to engage in the fraudulent acts alleged
herein. This association in fact is an enterprise within the
meaning of the New Mexico Racketeering Act, NMSA 1978 §
30-42-3(C).
112. The fraudulent acts alleged herein
constitute a pattern of racketeering activity within the meaning
of NMSA 1978 § 30-42-3(D).
113. Manufacturer Defendants have each
received income from the pattern of racketeering activity in
which they have participated, and have invested that income to
establish and operate the enterprise in violation of NMSA 1978 §
30-42-4(A).
114. Manufacturer Defendants have each used
the pattern of racketeering activity in which they have
participated to maintain an interest in and control of the
enterprise in violation of NMSA 1978 § 30-42-4(B).
115. Manufacturer Defendants have each
conspired to do the foregoing acts in violation of NMSA 1978 §
30-42-4(D).
116. Plaintiff has sustained the injuries
alleged as a result of Manufacturer Defendants' conduct as
alleged.
COUNT XI:
VIOLATIONS OF THE NEW MEXICO ANTITRUST ACT
(MANUFACTURER DEFENDANTS)
117. Plaintiff re-alleges the preceding
paragraphs of this Complaint.
118. Beginning at a time uncertain, but at
least as early as 1954 and continuing to the present,
Manufacturer Defendants entered into a contract, agreement,
combination or conspiracy in unreasonable restraint of trade and
commerce in the market for cigarettes and other tobacco products
in the United States, including the State of New Mexico, in
violation of Section 57-1-1 of the New Mexico Antitrust Act, NMSA
1978.
119. Manufacturer Defendants' contract,
agreement, combination or conspiracy had the purpose and effect
of eliminating competition in the market for cigarettes and other
tobacco products in New Mexico and controlling that market, by
restraining and suppressing the dissemination of information
about the quality, composition and safety of cigarettes and
tobacco products, thereby eliminating alternative products from
the market, restricting consumer choice and causing consumers to
suffer tobacco-related illnesses and health care costs. These
health care costs flow directly from, and are inextricably
intertwined with Manufacturer Defendants' anticompetitive
suppression of product information.
120. In furtherance of their contract,
agreement, combination or conspiracy to eliminate competition,
including their suppression of product information, Manufacturer
Defendants, or some of them, restrained and suppressed research
on the harmful effects of cigarettes and other tobacco products;
restrained and suppressed disclosure of information on the
addictive properties of nicotine and information on the addictive
properties of nicotine and other harmful effects of cigarettes
and tobacco products; and restrained and suppressed research,
development, production and marketing of alternative, higher
qualify and safer cigarettes and tobacco products, thereby
eliminating future as well as current competition for their
products.
121. In furtherance of their conspiracy,
Manufacturer Defendants, or some of them, agreed to undertake
joint funding and control of studies relating to the effect of
tobacco products on human health and agreed to undertake joint
funding and control over trade publications and promotion and
marketing efforts. Through these and other agreements,
understandings and joint undertakings, Manufacturer Defendants
conspired to suppress and withhold information from consumers,
state and federal governments, medical and health care entities
and the public at large concerning the causal relationship
between tobacco products and various diseases.
122. In furtherance of their conspiracy,
Manufacturer Defendants, or some of them, formed the TIRC, its
successor CTR, and the TI, with the actual purpose of
fraudulently concealing their suppression of research and
information relating to the causal relationship between tobacco
products and various diseases.
123. Manufacturer Defendants' contract,
agreement, combination or conspiracy has had the purpose and
effect of inflating the price of and demand for their cigarettes
and tobacco products; of erecting barriers to the market and
protecting the structure of the market from competition; of
suppressing information that otherwise would have affected
consumer and regulatory behavior; and causing citizens of New
Mexico to purchase cigarettes and tobacco products when they
otherwise would not have done so. Manufacturer Defendants'
conspiracy has raised and stabilized prices, wrongfully increased
their profits, restrained and suppressed competition in the
research, development, production and sale of alternative
products and standardized the tobacco products manufactured and
sold in the United States.
124. Manufacturer Defendants' contract,
agreement, combination or conspiracy also increased
tobacco-related illnesses and associated health care costs and
suppressed research into and treatment of tobacco-related
illnesses. The cost of medical care for tobacco-related illnesses
is a foreseeable and necessary consequence of Manufacturer
Defendants' conspiracy. These medical care costs are inextricably
intertwined with the injury inflicted by Manufacturer Defendants
on competition in the market for tobacco products and flow
directly from their conspiracy to suppress and withhold product
information and suppress competition for alternative, higher
quality and safer cigarettes and tobacco products.
125. Through their conspiracy, Manufacturer
Defendants have caused serious injury to the business and
property of New Mexico citizens, who would not have purchased
cigarettes for the same price and in the same quantity in the
absence of Manufacturer Defendants' conspiracy and would not have
suffered tobacco-related illnesses and associated health care
costs.
126. Through their conspiracy, Manufacturer
Defendants have caused serious injury to the business and
property of Plaintiff in the form of increased costs of medical
care for its citizens. Through its Medicaid program, state
employee retirement agreements, state and other governmental
employee insurance plans, and other statutory and contractual
duties, Plaintiff has been required to pay many of these
increased costs.
127. Unless enjoined from continuing this
course of conduct, Manufacturer Defendants will continue to
engage in a contract, agreement, combination or conspiracy in
violation of the New Mexico Antitrust Act, and Plaintiff will
continue to suffer substantial injury to its business and
property as a direct result of their anticompetitive activity.
PRAYER FOR RELIEF
Plaintiff requests that the Court issue an
order and judgment against Defendants, jointly and severally, as
follows:
a. Awarding the State its actual damages;
b. Awarding punitive damages;
c. Ordering Defendants to undertake an
accounting of their profits from the manufacture, sale and
distribution of tobacco products in New Mexico under such terms
as the Court deems proper.
d. Declaring that Defendants have engaged in
unfair, deceptive and unconscionable trade practices in violation
of the laws of the State of New Mexico;
e. Enjoining Defendants and their respective
officers, directors, employees, agents, servants and all persons
acting in concert with them, directly or indirectly, from
engaging in any unfair, deceptive or unconscionable trade
practices in violation of the laws of the State of New Mexico;
f. Ordering Defendants to disclose,
disseminate, and publish all research previously conducted
directly or indirectly by themselves and their respective
officers, directors, employees, agents, affiliates, servants and
all persons acting in concert with them, that relates to the
issue of smoking and health;
g. Ordering Defendants to fund a campaign of
corrective public advertising relating to the issue of smoking
and health to be controlled and administered by an independent
third party;
h. Ordering Defendants to take reasonable and
necessary affirmative measures to prevent the distribution and
sale of cigarettes to minors;
i. Ordering Defendants to fund clinical
smoking cessation programs in the State of New Mexico, said
programs to be administered and controlled by an independent
third party;
j. Awarding civil penalties against each
Defendant in an amount equal to $5,000 for each separate willful
violation of the New Mexico Unfair Practices Act;
k. Declaring that Manufacturer Defendants have
violated the provisions of the New Mexico Racketeering Act;
l. Enjoining Manufacturer Defendants and their
respective officers, directors, employees, agents and servants
and all persons acting in concert with them from any further
violations of the New Mexico Racketeering Act;
m. Awarding Plaintiff three times the damage
it has sustained, and will sustain, as a result of the New Mexico
Racketeering Act violations alleged herein;
n. Awarding Plaintiff recovery under Section
57-1-7 of the New Mexico Antitrust Act against each Manufacturer
Defendant in the amount of Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars
($250,000) for each violation of the Antitrust Act;
o. Awarding Plaintiff three times the damages
it has sustained, and will sustain, as a result of the antitrust
violations alleged herein, under Section 57-1-3 of the New Mexico
Antitrust Act;
p. Awarding attorney fees, costs and expenses;
and
q. Providing for such other and further relief
as the Court deems equitable and just.
Respectfully submitted,
Tom Udall
Attorney General of New Mexico
______________________________
Tom Udall
Attorney General
______________________________
- Frederic S. Nathan, Jr.
- Assistant Attorney General
- P.O. Drawer 1508
- Santa Fe, N.M. 87504-1508
- (505) 827-6000
- Eaves, Bardacke & Baugh, P.A.
- ________________________________
- Paul Bardacke
- Peter S. Kierst
- Kerry Kiernan
- 6400 Uptown Blvd. NE, Suite 110-W
- Albuquerque, New Mexico 87110
- (505) 888-4300
- The Branch Law Firm
- __________________________________
- Turner W. Branch
- Elizabeth McCourt
- 2025 Rio Grande Blvd., NW
- Albuquerque, NM 87104-2525
- (505) 243-3500
- Attorneys for Plaintiff