R.J. Reynolds Son-of-a-Bitch memo

This article is part of the Tobacco portal on Sourcewatch funded from 2006 - 2009 by the American Legacy Foundation.

This is the famous "son of a bitch" memo written by Mike Jordan, an attorney with the law firm of Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge & Rice in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Jordan served as an outside attorney for the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. In the memo, Jordan is discussing strategies used in asbestos and tobacco litigation in Tobacco industry activity in California. Jordan writes,

...[T]he aggressive posture we have taken regarding depositions and discovery in general continues to make these cases extremely burdensome and expensive for plaintiff's lawyers, particularly sole practitioners. To paraphrase General Patton, the way we won these cases was not by spending all of Reynold's money, but by making that other son of a bitch spend all his."

This memo was used by attorney Steven Kazan in Haines v. Liggett Group Inc., 814 F.Supp. 414 (D. N.J. 1993) [Exhibit D].

Entire text of memo:

Although it is not confirmed in writing at this point, during the week of April 25 John Robinson agreed to dismiss his cases against the tobacco industry. Presently I am unsure as to the mechanics of the dismissal, but I suspect that we will receive orders of dismissial in cases filed by John solely, whether served or unserved.... ...This agreement seems to be the result of two factors. First, the California Supreme Court recently ruled that Proposition 51, the proposition that affected joint and several liability, was not retroactive. This meant asbestos plaintiffs' lawyers could satisfy their entire judgement from any solvent asbestos company, thus eliminating the need to have tobacco as a party to bear a pro rata share. Secondly, the agressive posture we have taken regarding depositions and discovery in general continues to make these cases extremely burdensome and expensive for plaintiff's lawyers, particularly sole practitioners. To paraphrase General Patton, the way we won these cases was not by spending all of Reynold's money, but by making that other son of a bitch spend all his.

Title: Attorney Work Product Confidential/Privileged Memorandum
Author: Mike Jordan, Womble, Carlyle Sandridge and Rice
Date: April 29, 1988
No. pages: 1
URL: http: //www.kazanlaw.com/verdicts/articles/images/exb_d_sob.gif

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