Lawsuits
National
Supreme Court rejects challenge to California anti-smoking
ads
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a free-speech challenge by
R.J. Reynolds and Lorillard regarding California’s anti-smoking
advertisements paid for by cigarette excise taxes. Initially,
a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit and the decision was
upheld by a U.S. appeals court based in San Francisco. The
companies appealed to the Supreme Court, stating that the
First Amendment prohibits the government from imposing a tax
that applies "solely to a discrete disfavored group"
and then using the money to fund government speech attacking
the same group that is subject to the tax. The high court
denied the appeal without any comment or recorded dissent.
Click for more
information.
Lawsuit filed against National Association of Attorneys
General by tobacco product manufacturer
Cutting Edge Enterprises, Inc., a tobacco products manufacturer,
has been a member of the Master Settlement Agreement since
2000. It plans to file a lawsuit against the National Association
of Attorneys General and 39 states. NAAG maintains a listing
of all Participating Manufacturers and their brands on their
website.
The suit alleges that the NAAG failed to list on its website
CEEI brands, which they believe violates antitrust law and
is a breach of the MSA. Click for more
information.
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States
Missouri:
Missouri jury rules in favor of RJ Reynolds
A jury in Independence, Missouri has decided in favor of R.J.
Reynolds and other cigarette manufacturers named in an individual
smoking and health case. The suit had been filed by 80-year
old William A. VanDenBurg, who claimed that smoking cigarettes
for more than 30 years caused him to develop lung cancer.
He sought $15 million in compensatory damages. Click for more
information.
New York:
Settlement reached with Native Trading Associates in New York
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) have
reached an agreement with Native Trading Associates (NTA)
to make NTA the first manufacturer on the Saint Regis Mohawk
Reservation in New York to come into compliance with Federal
law. The settlement resolves issues related to NTA's manufacture
of tobacco products on an Indian reservation without the payment
of Federal excise tax, manufacturing without a permit or bond,
and the distribution of cigarettes in violation of the Contraband
Cigarette Trafficking Act (CCTA). Click for more
information.
Oregon:
Oregon Supreme Court Awards $79.5 Million in Damages Against
Philip Morris
In the case of Mayola Williams v. Philip Morris Inc. et al,
Williams sued Philip Morris on behalf of her late husband
for negligence and fraud. A jury agreed with the claim but
awarded the damages based on the fraud claim only. The case
has gone through several appeals, including one to the U.S.
Supreme Court, which in 2003 instructed the Oregon Court of
Appeals to reconsider the punitive damages award. The Oregon
Supreme Court has now ruled that the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed
guideposts that favored determining a significant punitive
award against Philip Morris. Thus the Williams family will
receive the $79.5 million they were initially awarded in 1999.
Click for more
information.
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