Corporate Credit Ratings: A/Stable/A-1 Standard&Poor's ratings on British American Tobacco PLC (BAT) are not affected by the recent U.S. Supreme Court refusal to hear the appeal case of BAT local subsidiary, Brown&Williamson Tobacco Corp. (B&W). B&W tried to appeal against a $750,000 compensation payment awarded in 1995 by a jury in the Carter case, an individual claim on tobacco-related cancer. The Supreme Court decision exhausted all recourse. Compensation, including accrued interests, was paid in March 2001, and will now stand as the first actual payment from the tobacco industry on a jury verdict. The Supreme Court's decision not to hear the appeal means that the validity of the conflicting arguments is still to be tested (especially
