Judge Rejects Request for Gambling Data

Tobacco companies being sued by the state of Minnesota won’t get state records about gambling and its addictive qualities, according to a state court ruling last week. Judge Kenneth Fitzpatrick, in a decision late Friday, said the companies’ current request is too broad. He also denied a tobacco company request to set the trial date in September 1998 and instead chose the state’s request for Jan. 19, 1998, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. Philip Morris Cos., RJR Nabisco Inc. and other cigarette companies are being sued by attorneys general in several states for consumer and Medicaid fraud because of smoking-related illnesses. Last week, Iowa become the 20th state to file such a suit. In a novel legal strategy, the companies had sought state records on gambling to show that Minnesota had supported enterprises that could be considered additive. Separately, a federal court hearing set for today on a legal challenge to a Massachusetts law that would force tobacco companies to disclose their ingredients has been postponed. No new day has been set.