Supreme Court of Canada Dismisses Constitutional Challenge of B.C. Legislation

Trading: TSX: ROC

TORONTO, Sept. 29 /CNW/ - Rothmans Inc. announced today that the Supreme
Court of Canada has dismissed the constitutional challenge of the Tobacco
Damages and Health Care Cost Recovery Act (British Columbia) brought by
Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc. (RBH) and other Canadian and foreign tobacco
product manufacturers.
While RBH is disappointed with the result, it is carefully reviewing the
Supreme Court's judgment which includes extensive reasons involving a number
of complicated issues. The Supreme Court decision also lifted the stay of the
legal action brought by the Province of British Columbia in 2001 against RBH,
Rothmans Inc., Imperial Tobacco Limited, JTI-MacDonald Corp. and other tobacco
manufacturers. RBH expects that the Province's action will now proceed.
No substantive court hearings have been held regarding the merits of the
Province's claim as a result of the stay of the action which had been in
place. RBH and Rothmans Inc. deny the Provinces' allegations and believe that
they have good defenses to the Province's claim. RBH and Rothmans Inc. intend
to vigorously defend themselves and anticipate that the Province's legal
action will involve many years of complex litigation through the trial and
appellate process.
The Supreme Court of Canada judgment can be found at
www.lexum.umontreal.ca/csc-scc/en/ under "Recent Judgments".