No one has yet collected a single judgment against the tobacco companies. If this scenario is what the future holds, then everyone except the tobacco companies would have been better off with our settlement. The second scenario is that the lawsuits are fabulously successful. The existing tobacco companies are driven into the ground. They pay huge judgments, then declare bankruptcy.
New companies start up by purchasing the remaining assets from the bankruptcy court.
The claims of outrageously improper conduct are now gone. The devastating internal corporate memoranda are now worthless. There is no corporate entity left to foot the bill for even the most compelling individual claim. The third scenario is that the litigation results provide a mixed bag. Some suits are successful and others are not.