Class Certification Denied in Asbestos Suits Against Big Tobacco; Limitations Tolled

NEW YORK - U.S. District Judge Jack B. Weinstein has denied the National Asbestos Workers Medical Fund's motion for class certification in its suit filed against the major U.S. tobacco companies to recover expenses for the smoking-related illnesses of its members. The National Asbestos Workers Medical Fund, et al. v. Philip Morris Inc., et al., No. 98 cv 1492 (E.D. N.Y.).

'Plaintiffs have not met their obligation of showing that the case is manageable as a class action,' Judge Weinstein wrote in his Sept. 20 order.

In a related order issued Sept. 26, Judge Weinstein issued a stay in the …