Commonwealth v. Philip Morris Inc.

HERRON, J.,

I. INTRODUCTION

On January 13, 1999, this court approved consent decrees and final judgments presented by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and various defendant tobacco manufacturers to settle and end their landmark lawsuit. This court also denied petitions to intervene by a group of hospitals, Allegheny County, and various private anti-tobacco activists and organizations filed shortly after the settlement agreement was announced in November 1998.

Paradoxically, some of the petitioners stated that they neither opposed the settlement nor sought to participate in it. Rather, they asked…