So it will come, if you will, in nice driblets throughout. For his part Humphrey says the damages he s seeking and, thus, the lawyer s fees, must be confidential, but he insists Minnesota taxpayers won t pay a dime, and he bristles at suggestions of a cozy relationship with the trial law firm. I find that a very cozy relationship. The people of Minnesota are not going to pay, if I have anything to do about it. Either there s not going to be a legal fee paid because we don t win the case, or we are going to apply to the court and ask that the tobacco industry pay fees, as is our right under the statute, for their violation of state laws.
Documents are also a key part of the Minnesota case.
Yesterday, Congressman Henry Waxman released R. J. Reynolds internal documents that he said showed a long-time plan to attract teenagers to smoke. Humphrey says Minnesota is aiming to reveal far more internal documents in its case. Some 33 million pages have been stored in this Minneapolis building as the court decides whether they should be protected by attorney-client privilege. Humphrey says they ll show a history of illegal behavior. Only now are beginning to see some of that story told, and the very tip of what we ve seen so far is very telling.