The tobacco industry may not accuse the U.S. government of being the pot that calls the kettle black in a high-stakes trial set to begin in September, a federal judge has ruled.

At least that’s one way to characterize the ruling by Judge Gladys Kessler of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. To be more precise, she denied an industry request that it be allowed to plead equitable defenses against the United States.