Justice Antonin Scalia guessed wrong last fall when he acted unilaterally to delay a multimillion-dollar legal settlement at the request of tobacco companies, figuring the U.S. Supreme Court would want to review the lower court decision and reverse it.

 

The ruling in question required tobacco makers Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, Brown & Williamson Holdings and Lorillard Tobacco to pay $270 million to the state of Louisiana for a stop-smoking program. The payment was ordered as part of a class-action lawsuit filed in 1996 and decided by a jury seven years ago. Company lawyers appealed to the Supreme Court for help.

 

But instead of allowing his colleagues to decide as a group whether to hear the case, Scalia exercised a rarely-used authority to stay the Circuit Court decision. Scalia got the case because he oversees the 5th Circuit, which includes Louisiana.

 

Scalia, who smokes, justified his action by predicting that at least three other justices would agree with him and want to review the ruling, and most likely strike it down.

 

This week, the Supreme Court–without comment–refused to hear Big Tobacco’s appeal and allowed the Louisiana decision to stand. The four votes needed to hear the case never materialized.

 

Scalia had no public comment on the matter.

 

High Court undoes Scalia's Pro-Tobacco Order (by Mark Sherman, Associated Press)

Scalia Stays $270M Judgment in La. Smoking Suit (by Melissa Lipman, Law 360)

Philip Morris v. Gloria Scott (U.S. Supreme Court) (pdf)