Vic: BAT lawyers deny involvement in withdrawn Rothmans case

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Vic: BAT lawyers deny involvement in withdrawn Rothmans case

MELBOURNE, April 18 AAP - Legal firm Clayton Utz today denied any involvement in pressuringa dying Melbourne woman into dropping a claim against its client, tobacco giant Rothmans,more than 15 years ago.

In August 1986, the Victorian Supreme Court gave 38-year-old Ruth Scanlon the rightto sue the American Cigarette Company and Rothmans of Pall Mall, makers of Peter Stuyvesantcigarettes.

Ms Scanlon withdrew her damages claim after she was warned in an anonymous phone callto drop the case or her family would be informed of her sexual history.

Ms Scanlon, a lung cancer sufferer, subsequently dropped the claim and died three months later.

The legal firm who represented Ms Scanlon, Slater and Gordon, confirmed they had beentold of the threat but did not wish to elaborate further because of legal professionalprivilege.

"I confirm that Mrs Scanlon told us that she had received a threatening phone calland as a result of this decided to drop her legal action against Rothmans," senior partnerPeter Gordon told the Financial Review.

"She did not know who made the call and to this day we do not know who made the call."

Clayton Utz, who represented Rothmans at the time, today released a statement sayingthe company totally rejected any association with the alleged phone call.

Chief executive partner David Fagan said the firm was not involved in any approachesin 1986 to a woman about her personal life to cause her to drop a claim made against atobacco company.

"No-one from Clayton Utz ever approached her to influence her to drop the claim," Mr Fagan said.

The newspaper said the threat followed an "extensive and intrusive" investigation bya private investigation company employed by Rothmans.

Rothmans later merged with British American Tobacco (BAT), the company which was orderedto pay $700,000 to Rolah McCabe last week in the Supreme Court in Melbourne.

Justice Geoffrey Eames found that BAT, with the advice of its law firm Clayton Utz,had destroyed documents vital to the case.

The court also heard a private company hired by Clayton Utz, Nationwide InvestigationServices, conducted a search into Ms McCabe's past, including phone calls to a formerboyfriend and a former boss.

AAP db/las/de

KEYWORD: MCCABE SCANLON