Lawsuits
National
Judge Kessler rules in favor of DOJ in lawsuit against
tobacco companies
On August 17th, Judge Kessler ruled that the
nation's top cigarette makers violated racketeering laws,
deceiving the public for years about the health hazards
of smoking. However, the remedies she imposed did not include
financial penalties that would have been used for prevention
and cessation programming. The judge stated that she was
limited by an appeals court ruling that said remedies must
be forward-looking and not penalties for past actions.
She ordered the companies to publish in newspapers and on
their Web sites "corrective statements" on the
adverse health effects and addictiveness of smoking and
nicotine, and to stop labeling cigarettes as "low tar,"
"light," "ultra light" or "mild."
Click here
for more information and here
to view the judge's order. Click here
to view a press release from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free
Kids, which is calling for an appeal of the remedies imposed.
Justice Department opposes questioning of former official
in tobacco case
The Department of Justice is opposing the questioning
of Robert McCallum, former associate attorney general in
the department's lawsuit against the tobacco industry.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)
has alleged that McCallum misled Congress and has failed
to hand over records in regards to a reduction in the penalties
sought in the case. Click here
to learn more. In addition, the Justice Department alleges
that CREW is in illegal possession of internal e-mails from
the computer of Sharon Eubanks, a former chief lawyer for
its tobacco litigation who now works at the nonprofit organization.
Click here
to learn more.
Impact of litigation against Philip Morris less than
hoped but still significant
According to Philip Morris USA, 1,579 individual and
class-action lawsuits have been filed against the company
since the 1950s, but only 51 have gone to trial, not including
the class-action lawsuit filed by flight attendants in Florida.
The company claims to have lost four cases and paid out
a total of $103 million. According to Matthew Myers with
the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, although the impact
of litigation has not been as significant as some had hoped,
it is still a serious threat, with recent lawsuits being
filed regarding the deceptive marketing of light- and low-tar
cigarettes. Mr. Myers believes that the new Surgeon General's
Report on secondhand smoke may lead to a resurgence of lawsuits
alleging health damage to nonsmokers. Click here
for more information.
Big Tobacco Lied to Public, Judge Says
U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler ruled that tobacco companies
have violated civil racketeering laws, concluding that cigarette
makers conspired for decades to deceive the public about
the dangers of their product and ordering the companies
to make landmark changes in the way cigarettes are marketed.
Click here
to learn more and here
to view the Final Judgment and Remedial Order.
Cigarette Makers Face Heavy Task of Rebranding
‘Light’ Smokes
Major cigarette makers face a daunting marketing challenge
in the wake of a federal court ruling last Thursday: changing
the name of some of their biggest-selling brands. Unless
overturned on appeal, the court ruling will force companies
to abandon the adjectives "light" and "low-tar,"
powerful marketing tools now used in dozens of cigarette
brand names. Altria Group Inc.'s Philip Morris USA will
have to rename its Marlboro Lights and Ultra Lights -- alternatives
include Marlboro Gold and Marlboro Silver, both used in
Europe -- while Reynolds American Inc.'s R.J. Reynolds Tobacco
Co. will have to rename its Camel Lights. Click here
for additional information.
Tobacco Companies File for Emergency Stay of Judgement
The tobacco defendants have filed for an emergency stay
of Judge Kessler’s August 17, 2006 judgement “pending
resolution of Defendants’ Motion for Stay of Judgment
Pending Appeal.” Click here
for more information.
Statement from the Department of Justice on United
States v. Philip Morris Ruling
Clear here
to view the Department of Justice’s statement on the
United States v. Philip Morris case ruling.
RWJF Releases Statement on Ruling in Case Against
Tobacco Industry
RWJF President and CEO Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A.,
has released a statement on the August 17 ruling by U.S.
District Judge Gladys Kessler. In the statement, Lavizzo-Mourey
notes that the remedies ordered by Judge Kessler could help
to prevent future misleading and harmful practices by tobacco
companies and may help advance full disclosure of tobacco
industry wrongdoings to the American people. However, she
urges that more be done, such as requiring tobacco companies
to contribute significant funds toward preventing tobacco
use among young people and to help smokers quit. Click here
to read the news release.
Statement of William V. Corr Executive Director,
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler’s ruling that the
tobacco companies are racketeers who have lied – and
continue to lie – to the American people about the
health risks of their products and their marketing to children
puts the responsibility squarely on elected officials, beginning
with President Bush and Congress, to rein in the industry
and protect our nation’s health. Click here
to read the full statement.
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States
California
Los Angeles tenant sues apartment over secondhand
smoke
A Los Angeles-area attorney is suing the owners of his
apartment complex for allowing tenants to smoke in common
areas because the secondhand smoke has harmed the health
of his 5-year-old daughter, who suffers from asthma, chronic
allergies, and frequent bouts of pneumonia. Click here
to learn more.
California awaits U.S. Supreme Court decision on punitive
damages
The California Supreme Court has put on hold an appellate
court ruling allowing a $28 million punitive damages award
against Philip Morris until the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled
on identical issues. Click here
for additional information.
Colorado
Bar owners file suit seeking exemption to Colorado
ordinance
Two bar owners in La Plata County, Colorado have filed
a lawsuit seeking exemption from the new statewide ordinance
because at least 5% of their income comes from tobacco sales.
According to the new law, however, they must also possess
a humidor to be exempt. The Colorado Licensed Beverage
Association claims that enforcement has been uneven. Click
here for
additional information.
Colorado theater companies consider going to court over
smoking restrictions
Theater companies in Colorado are headed towards a lawsuit
over the state smoking ordinance, which prohibits the smoking
of any substance on an indoor stage, even if it's not tobacco.
They claim that the ordinance violates their constitutional
rights and that removing smoking scenes would infringe upon
the playwright's vision. Click here for more information
on the potential suit in Colorado and for a summary of related
cases in other states.
Delaware
Legacy's truth® campaign vindicated again
in long legal battle with Lorillard
The Delaware Supreme Court has found that the American
Legacy Foundation®'s bold and effective youth
smoking prevention advertising campaign, truth®,
does not vilify or personally attack tobacco companies or
their employees. This decision was the result of an appeal
made by Lorillard Tobacco Company, after the Delaware Chancery
Court found in favor of the foundation in August 2005. This
Supreme Court decision could finally mean the end of a contentious
dispute that threatened to close the foundation's doors
and end the only effective national youth tobacco prevention
campaign. Click here
to read the rest of the press release.
Florida
Cigarette makers ask for rehearing in Florida Supreme
Court dismissal of $145 billion verdict in Engle case
The Florida Supreme Court recently dismissed a $145
billion punitive damage verdict in a case known as Engle.
The decision upheld the jury's findings that the tobacco
companies have engaged in a broad range of wrongful actions
and opens the way for thousands of individual cases against
the industry for both compensatory and punitive damages.
Eligible plaintiffs would be residents of Florida who can
prove smoking-related illnesses as of November 1996.
Click here
to view a statement by the American Legacy Foundation and
here
to view a statement by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
Click here
to learn more about the individual cases that may soon follow,
and here to read about a DeLand
woman who has already filed suit.
Philip Morris and other cigarette makers have asked the
court to reconsider its decision to uphold certain factual
findings of a lower court, including that the companies
negligently misled smokers about the dangers of their products.
The tobacco companies are not challenging general causation
(the idea that smoking is known to cause certain illnesses)
or the claim that smoking is addictive. Click here
to learn more.
Illinois
Liquor trade group challenges Springfield, IL ordinance
A trade group representing liquor retailers is challenging
an indoor smoking ordinance that will take effect on September
17th in Springfield. Click here
for additional information.
Maryland
Maryland family can sue tobacco companies over 2001
lung cancer death
The Maryland Supreme Court has ruled that the family
of a former two-pack-a-day smoker who developed lung cancer
in 1998 and died in 2001 can sue various tobacco manufacturers,
distributors, and sellers. The suit had been delayed while
a class action against the same defendants was pending.
Click here
for additional information.
Michigan
Workplace smoking ordinance upheld in Northwest
Michigan preemption case
A judge has ruled that the Northwest Michigan Community
Health Department has the authority to implement a workplace
smoking ordinance in four counties. The lawsuit was filed
by five citizens who argued that the state Legislature had
pre-empted the authority of local health departments to
regulate smoking. This is a test case that will have important
implications for the entire state, and is expected to be
appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court. Click here
to learn more.
Minnesota
St. Paul bar owners lose ordinance challenge and
liquor trade group drops its effort
St. Paul bar owners have lost a court challenge against
the city's smoking ordinance. Following the loss, the Minnesota
Licensed Beverage Association said that it will drop its
attempt to repeal the ordinance. Click here to learn
more.
New York
Schwab case against Philip Morris in NY delayed
A case against Philip Morris filed in the Federal District
Court for the Eastern District of New York has been postponed
until September 13th. The lead plaintiff, Barbara
Schwab, claims that cigarette manufacturers violated the
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO)
by misleading smokers about the dangers of light and low-tar
cigarettes. The lawsuit seeks to pave the way for a nationwide
class-action lawsuit that could include millions of light-cigarette
smokers. Click here
for additional information.
Nevada
Nevada resort operators and casinos challenge state
ordinance
Resort operators and casinos are appealing to remove
the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act from the November ballot.
The legislation would ban smoking in most public areas,
including hotel and motel rooms and all restaurants and
businesses, but not in casino areas where minors are prohibited
and in "stand alone" bars and taverns. The group
states that signers were misled by claims that the ordinance
would not extend to hotel and motel rooms. Click here for more information.
New Jersey
NJ casino worker sues over cancer caused by secondhand
smoke
An employee of the Tropicana Casino and Resort has filed
a suit claiming that his lung cancer was caused by 25 years
of involuntary inhalation of secondhand smoke on the casino's
floors. Click here
to learn more about the suit.
North Carolina
Tobacco farmers lawsuit settled in NC
A lawsuit filed by a group of tobacco farmers against
other farmers and attorneys for fraudulent practices and
breach of contract stemming from an original lawsuit against
major U.S. tobacco companies for price-fixing has been settled.
Click here
to learn more about the details of both the original and
the recently settled suit.
North Dakota
Judge rules that ND courts should handle tobacco
payments dispute
A North Dakota judge has ruled that the state's courts
should decide on a dispute regarding tobacco lawsuit payments,
which amount to $2.75 million for this year so far. The
three tobacco companies named - R.J. Reynolds, Lorillard,
and Philip Morris - would like to see the case settled through
arbitration. Click here
for additional information.
Washington
American Legion Post in Washington challenges state
ordinance
American Legion Post 149 in Bremerton, WA has challenged
the state's new clean indoor air act because it prohibits
smoking in private clubs. Click here
for more information.
West Virginia
Smokeless tobacco settlement challenged in West Virginia
A complaint has been filed in West Virginia to challenge
a settlement in a lawsuit against U.S. Smokeless Tobacco
Inc. Lawsuits had been brought in several states alleging
that the company violated antitrust laws and engaged in
unfair and deceptive trade practices. Click here
for more information.
West Virginia Quitline contract upheld
A Charleston, WV company lost its challenge over a contract
for the state tobacco-cessation Quitline, which it lost
to Seattle-based Free & Clear, Inc. whose bid was over
$200,000 per year higher. A hearing examiner concluded
that the committee that reviewed the bids had acted rationally.
Click here for additional
information.
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