Cigarette Plain Packaging Privilege, British American Tobacco

British American Tobacco Australia was refused leave on Friday to appeal to the court over its long-running bid to access privileged 1995 Commonwealth documents about plain packaging, under Freedom of Information laws. It comes after Wednesday's High Court ruling against tobacco companies' claim that the legislation, which is now cleared to take effect from December, is unconstitutional.

British American Tobacco Dropped

British American Tobacco Plc has won its fight to be dropped from a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit in which cigarette companies were found to have conspired to lie about the dangers of tobacco.

U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler, citing a U.S. Supreme Court ruling issued since her 2006 judgment against British American Tobacco and other companies, said she would grant the request by the company to be severed from the case.