Judge Upholds Dismissal of Suit against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings.

Byline: Brian Louis

Oct. 13--R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings Inc. won a sizable legal victory yesterday when a federal appellate court affirmed a lower court's dismissal of a lawsuit filed by Canada that accused RJR of smuggling cigarettes into Canada.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision in New York was "clearly good news for RJR as well as the broad tobacco industry," said Martin Feldman, the tobacco analyst at Salomon Smith Barney. Feldman said that if Canada appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court, the high court "probably won't take the case," but if it does accept it for review, "it will only endorse" what the appellate court has ruled.

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