Experience

Federal Government Lawsuit Against Cigarette Manufacturers

British American Tobacco Company

Chadbourne represents British American Tobacco Company in the highly-publicized trial of the U.S. government's civil racketeering fraud action against multiple cigarette manufacturers in federal court in Washington, D.C., which initially sought recovery of $280 billion in damages.  (U.S. v. Philip Morris USA, Inc., et al., D.D.C.)

Though final judgment in this action under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) is on appeal, Chadbourne has already established new precedent regarding a party's right to protect its privileged documents from compelled disclosure. Chadbourne attorneys successfully argued to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals that a trial court's order requiring the production of privileged documents is a "collateral order" that may be appealed prior to entry of final judgment in the underlying action. This was the first decision in the D.C. Circuit to establish that adverse privilege rulings were "collateral orders"—resulting in a significant expansion of appellate jurisdiction.