Tobacco Firms To Appeal Order To Pay C$15.6 Bln To Quebec Smokers - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Cigarette maker British American Tobacco Plc. (BATS.L, BTI) announced that the judgement in two Canadian class action lawsuits has been publicly issued at the Quebec Superior Court in Canada on 1 June 2015 following a private release which was made on 27 May 2015. The judgement follows a ten year legal challenge against British American Tobacco's Canadian subsidiary, Imperial Tobacco Canada as well as Philip Morris International (PM) and Japan Tobacco International's Canadian subsidiaries.

The cases were brought on behalf of two groups of Plaintiffs: smokers, who smoked a minimum of 12 pack-years and who were diagnosed with lung, throat and laryngeal cancer or emphysema prior to 12 March 2012, and smokers who were addicted to nicotine at the time the proceedings were commenced (September 1998) and remained addicted until at least 21 February 2005.

On 1 June, the judge publicly issued a ruling in favor of the Plaintiffs awarding a total of C$15.6 billion in moral and punitive damages, including interest. Imperial Tobacco Canada's share of the total damages would be C$10.4 billion. The judgement also stated that if an appeal was to be made, a provisional execution order would require the defendants to pay C$1.131 billion between them. Imperial Tobacco Canada's share of the provisional execution order would be C$743 million.

Imperial Tobacco Canada will challenge both the overall judgement, and seek a stay of the provisional execution order, within 30 days of the original 27 May ruling.