Big Tobacco and Legislators Wrestle Lady Justice to the Ground
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Senator Haridopolos, state senator of the great State of Florida, has himself a bill in committee. It is Senate Bill 2198. It has suddenly arisen from the ashes of so many cigarette butts and, curiously on the heels of the first verdicts being rendered against Big Tobacco in the Engle cases.
What great public service does the good senator’s bill perform? Well, it services Big Tobacco; it protects a single industry from its own bad conduct. So, why Big Tobacco? Why prolong the denial of justice to thousands of Floridians in the name of protecting one “special” industry?
Put aside for the moment your knee jerk reaction to cigarette smoking and who is to blame. Put aside for the moment Big Tobacco’s PR mantra that all smokers “chose” to continue smoking. Why should a group of legislators work so very hard to protect Big Tobacco when so many Floridians need their help in these dire economic times? Why is a single industry deserving of economic protections before the good citizens of Florida are even considered?
In Senate bill 2198, Senator Haridopolos seeks to allow Big Tobacco to avoid a legal requirement that every other Big Corporation and every single person is required to comply with. Senator Haridopolos proposes that only Big Tobacco be able to buy this very special ticket.
If someone sues me, I receive a trial in which a jury renders a verdict against me, then I am required to post what is called a “supersedeas bond” before I can appeal the judgment. The reason for the bond is simply to allow security to the person who has a judgment against me. The person holding the judgment has a legal right to secure their judgment while I exercise my legal right to appeal the decision. The bond simply assures payment of the judgment in the event I lose after exercising all my legal appeal remedies. ALL corporations are required to post such a bond in cases where ANY judgment is rendered against them.
So why is Big Tobacco special? Under Senate Bill 2198, Big Tobacco does not have to post any bonds that exceed $100 million dollars. Remember that over 6000 smokers who were hooked on cigarettes LONG BEFORE the 1963 Surgeon General report came out, have been waiting for nearly two decades just to be allowed their “day in court”. If even 3000 of those smokers obtain verdicts of $100,000, the total judgments would be $300,000,000. That would mean that, under Senator Haridopolos’ bill, Big Tobacco could skate by on over two-thirds of its legal obligations.
Is it fair to single out only Big Tobacco for this very special protection? Is it just to reengineer justice for one industry? What fairness balancing test is being used to justify this modification of the justice system that every other Big Corporation and every other individual is required to comply with? What is the motivation here? Who benefits?
Ask Senator Haridopolos.