Philip Morris fined $2.75 million for destroying e-mails

In 1999 the US Government launched a civil racketeering suit against the tobacco industry, accusing it of misleading the public over the effects of smoking. It claimed $280 billion.

Shortly after the suit was filed the Washington DC District Court issued an order requiring Philip Morris and its parent company Altria Group to preserve "all documents and other records containing information which could be potentially relevant to the subject matter of this litigation".

However, on every month for two years after the order was issued, Philip Morris and Altria continued to delete e-mail that was over 60 days old.

According to court papers, the two companies became aware of the problem in February 2002, but did not advise the court until June that year. In the meantime, the monthly deletions continued in both February and March.

In her ruling, issued on 21st July, Judge Gladys Kessler said that "there is no question that a significant number of e-mails have been lost and that Philip Morris employees were not following the company's own internal procedures for document preservation."

"What is particularly troubling is that Phillip Morris specifically identified at least eleven employees who failed to follow the appropriate procedures, and that those eleven employees hold some of the highest, most responsible positions in the company", she added.

Judge Kessler therefore granted the Justice Department's request that the companies be fined. She ordered payment of $2.75 million in damages to reflect "the reckless disregard and gross indifference" shown by the company.

She also issued an order that none of the 11 employees accused of breaching the preservation order be allowed to testify in the upcoming trial, which is due to begin in September.

But Judge Kessler refused to grant a request by the Justice Department that an "adverse inference" be held on the reasons behind the e-mail destruction. This, she said, would "cast too wide a net".