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Judge wants tobacco talks
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April 19, 2000: 6:35 a.m. ET
Federal judge to lawyers for both sides: get settlement, report says
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - A federal judge has ordered tobacco companies and plaintiffs' lawyers to nail down a settlement that would probably end all major tobacco litigation in the United States, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
"The time for bringing a close to tobacco litigation is nigh," U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein said in an order issued in federal court in Brooklyn, the Journal reported. The settlement would include a class-action suit pending before the judge on behalf of all U.S. smokers with lung cancer.
 The move is significant because it represents an effort by one judge to end the escalating legal battles against U.S. tobacco makers, the report said. Judge Weinstein currently has six tobacco lawsuits pending before him.
In Tuesday's order, Judge Weinstein reportedly told lawyers in all six cases to "begin preliminary discussions designed to set a framework for settlement negotiations." He suggested that a mediator be selected and said he would appoint one himself if necessary, according to the Journal.
Weinstein also said current class-actions suits should really encompass all people with tobacco-related illnesses in the nation, rather than just those with lung cancer, "so that tobacco litigation may be fully resolved in a comprehensive fashion," the report said.
The judge's order apparently startled lawyers on all sides. "It was certainly unexpected," William Ohlemeyer, associate general counsel at Philip Morris Cos. Inc. (MO: Research, Estimates), the world's biggest cigarette maker, was quoted as saying in the Journal. "Obviously, we're going to have to look at the order and look at the law, but it's not something that anyone can disregard out of hand, regardless of how strong we feel our defenses are." 
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