August 21, 1998
NW Minnesota counties express interest in tobacco settlement
By Jaime DeLage
Herald Staff Writer
At least five counties in northwest Minnesota have responded to a call to join a class action lawsuit against Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Minnesota.
Clay, Kittson, Lake of the Woods and Marshall counties are among about 10 Minnesota counties that already have responded to an inquiry from the Lommen Nelson law firm of Minneapolis. Roseau County commissioners voted Wednesday to add their county to the list.
Lommen Nelson is one of three firms suing Blue Cross/Blue Shield to force the insurer to distribute $469 million it received from the recent tobacco settlement it won along with the state of Minnesota.
The firms contend that Blue Cross/Blue Shield subscribers are entitled to the settlement proceeds because the company entered the tobacco lawsuit on the behalf of its insured groups. The insurer plans to use the settlement to fund programs aimed at reducing the number of smokers in Minnesota instead, Lommen Nelson attorney Stephen Rathke said.
More cloutWhile any county that subscribed to Blue Cross/Blue Shield between 1988 and 1994 is automatically a party to the lawsuit, the firm is looking for class representatives to name as plaintiffs. Counties grouped together as class representatives would participate more in the decision making than unnamed counties.
Class representatives also will get some additional compensation if the lawsuit against Blue Cross/Blue Shield is successful, Rathke said. A number of large private companies that subscribed to Blue Cross/Blue Shield already are listed as class representatives.
None of the counties will have to pay anything to participate, Rathke said. All attorneys' fees and costs come out of the recovery; the amounts are determined by the judge.
Attorneys for Blue Cross/Blue Shield asked on Aug. 7 that the lawsuit be dismissed. If the lawsuit is allowed to proceed, interested counties then may be officially named as class representatives.