Asbestos Companies Sue Cigarette Makers

Two asbestos manufacturers filed suit against the largest U.S. cigarette companies to recover money spent fending off or settling claims by cancer victims who smoked. Toledo, Ohio-based Owens Corning and Fibreboard Corp. sued in state court in Oakland claiming that the tobacco industry conspired to hide information about the addictive properties and health dangers of tobacco. Owens Corning spokesman William Hamilton said the two firms that once made asbestos have paid out $5 billion in claims, of which $4 billion has gone to smokers. The suit names Philip Morris Cos., RJR Nabisco Holdings Corp., Loews Inc., BAT Industries and Brooke Group Ltd. Representatives for Philip Morris and other cigarette companies declined comment. Owens Corning said it acted because a proposed settlement of most tobacco litigation for as much as $15 billion a year in perpetuity, now pending in Congress, would ban third-party lawsuits like that by the asbestos makers.