06.01.12 Drug maker GlaxoSmithKline sued Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell Thursday, alleging that private attorneys hired by Caldwell to prosecute the state's lawsuit against the company have a "personal financial interest'' in the suit's outcome.

GlaxoSmithKline claims the fee agreement Caldwell has with the attorneys violates the state Constitution and the company's constitutional rights. The firm wants a judge to bar Caldwell from prosecuting the state's suit through private attorneys.

"GlaxoSmithKline has a legal right to face law-enforcement decisions that are not structurally tainted by substantial financial incentives for the prosecutors to seek and exact substantial penalties,'' the company contends in its lawsuit filed in state court in Baton Rouge.