Lawsuits

National

RJ Reynolds and Lorillard put MSA payments into disputed payment accounts prompting lawsuits by several states
Philip Morris has made its entire $3.4 billion master settlement agreement payment for 2006, but RJ Reynolds and Lorillard have put a combined $755 million of their payments into special “disputed payment accounts” pending settlement of a dispute as to whether they are due a reduction in payments due to a loss of market share to non-participating cigarette manufacturers. The states' attorneys generals say the companies would be entitled to a reduction only if states did not adequately enforce laws requiring cigarette makers outside the settlement to put money in escrow for future legal obligations. Several states are planning to sue the tobacco companies to recover the full amount owed to them under the MSA. At press time, Connecticut, California, Massachusetts, Ohio, Illinois, Oregon, Kentucky, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Washington, West Virginia, and Vermont had already filed suits, and other states are expected to do so. Click here for additional information.

Supreme Court declines Philip Morris appeal in individual smoker case
After five years, Philip Morris has exhausted its appeals in a landmark case filed by the widow of Richard Boeken of Topanga, California. Mr. Boeken began smoking in his teens and lost his life at the age of 57. The case marks the largest recovery to an individual to date, and includes $5.54 million to compensatory damages, $50 million in punitive damages, and more than $26 million in interest. Click here for additional information.

Supreme Court refuses to hear case against California anti-tobacco ads
RJ Reynolds and Lorillard have failed in their attempt to overturn a decision by an appeals court that rejected their claims that California’s anti-smoking ads violated their First Amendment rights. The companies objected to the state using revenue from taxes on cigarettes, stating that it forced the tobacco industry to pay to vilify itself. Click here for more information.

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Arkansas:
 
Arkansas Supreme Court rules that revised law regarding wholesale cigarette sales is constitutional
The Arkansas Supreme Court has ruled that a revised state law that prohibits wholesale cigarette sales below cost is constitutional. McLane Southern Inc. had argued that the Unfair Cigarette Sales Act, which set minimum costs for cigarettes to prevent undercutting, violated state and federal constitutional protections against governmental interference. A revision of the law increased the minimum price from cost plus 2.75% to cost plus 4%. Click here for more information on the ruling.

California:
 
California appeals court upholds punitive damage award against Philip Morris
For the third time in less than three months, a court has upheld an individual plaintiff's verdict in a products liability case against Philip Morris. On Friday, the Court of Appeal of the State of California, Second Appellate District, Division Three, upheld a $28 million punitive damages award in the case of Bullock v. Philip Morris USA, Inc. The Court of Appeal concluded that ‘the extreme reprehensibility of Philip Morris’s conduct justifies a ratio of punitive damages to compensatory damages significantly greater than a single-digit.’ Click here to view the opinion.

Colorado:
 
Lawsuit considered by opponents of Colorado smoke-free air ordinance
Opponents of Colorado’s recently passed smoke-free air ordinance are considering filing a lawsuit to prevent the enactment of the law on July 1st. Click here for more information.

Florida:
 
Florida jury finds Liggett not responsible for death
The North Carolina cigarette maker Liggett was found not responsible for the death of a Boca Raton woman who smoked the company’s unfiltered Chesterfield cigarettes for 50 years. Her widower husband said he wanted the company to be punished for their actions. Click here for more information.
 
Florida physician still waiting for outcome of lawsuit against RJ Reynolds
Dr. Engle, a longtime Miami pediatrician, is the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit against RJ Reynolds that began in 1994. He represents 300,000 sick Florida smokers, and has watched the case go back and forth to the 3rd District court of Appeals, which first upheld and later overturned a record-breaking $145 billion verdict against the tobacco company. Dr. Engle, who has been diagnosed with a malignant tumor and also suffers from COPD and asthma, among other conditions, fears that he will not live to the see the outcome of the case. As a student at the University of Wisconsin Medical School, he began smoking free cigarettes that were passed out on the street corner by RJ Reynolds and Chesterfield. Click here for more information.

Georgia:
 
Judge rules that Georgia’s participation in MSA prohibits punitive damages
The Supreme Court of Georgia has ruled that the state’s participation in the 1998 tobacco settlement bars the heirs of a woman who died of lung cancer in 2001 from seeking punitive damages from Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. The decision is the first by a state's highest court that the settlement precludes an individual's claim for punitive damages. Click here for additional information.

Illinois:
 
Illinois Supreme Court still undecided on whether to rehear ‘light’ cigarette case
The Illinois Supreme Court still has not decided whether it will rehear a case in which it threw out a $10.1 billion 2003 verdict against Philip Morris. The company is accused of defrauding consumers into thinking "light" cigarettes were safer than regular cigarettes. Click here for more information.

Louisiana:
 
Tobacco companies try to overturn $591 million landmark verdict in Louisiana
Several tobacco companies have tried to persuade an appeals court to overturn a $591 million verdict in a class-action lawsuit representing 505,000 Louisiana smokers. The funds are to be used for nicotine patches, telephone hot lines and other programs to help Louisiana smokers quit. This is the first time a jury had ordered such programs, rather than awarding monetary damages to smokers. The companies argue that although the jury ruled that smokers were damaged by industry fraud, that's not a reason for liability under the Louisiana’s products liability law. Click here for more information.

Massachusetts:
 
Massachusetts Supreme Court allows smoking bans in private clubs
The Massachusetts Supreme Court has ruled that local boards of health can ban smoking in private clubs. Click here for more information.

Minnesota:
 
Minnesota 2003 cigarette fee for small manufacturers upheld
The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled that a $0.35 per-pack fee imposed on cigarettes sold by manufacturers that did not sign on to Minnesota’s state tobacco settlement agreement can stand. Te ruling applies to lesser-known brands, which have been gaining market share since the settlement.. Click here for more information.

Missouri:
 
Missouri jury clears tobacco companies
A jury in Jackson County Circuit Court decided that tobacco companies such as Brown & Williams, Phillip Morris USA, and RJ Reynolds were not responsible for the health problems of 80-year-old William VanDenBerg. VanDenBerg had claimed that cigarette makers conspired and concealed information and that they designed defective products that led to his health problems. Jeffrey Wigand testified in the case, but in the end, jurors were swayed by the defendants’ attorneys’ claims that the plaintiffs failed to show any medical evidence that cigarettes caused VanDenBurg’s cancer. Click here for more information.

New York:
 
NY supermarket chain sues tribes over untaxed cigarettes
Gristedes, a New York City supermarket chain, filed a lawsuit in Brooklyn federal court claiming that two Long Island Indian nations and senior tribal officials have been illegally selling untaxed cigarettes to non-Indians. Gristedes claims that the black market created by these sales has cost the chain over $20 million. Click here for more information.
 
Class action lawsuit regarding low-tar cigarettes filed in Brooklyn
In the class action lawsuit Schwab vs. Philip Morris, smokers of so-called light cigarettes are suing the tobacco companies for fraudulently marketing low-tar cigarettes as a healthier alternative to regular cigarettes. Click here for more information.

Oregon:
 
Oregon Supreme Court upholds punitive damage award against Philip Morris
In an opinion expressing contempt for the lethal business practices of Philip Morris, the Oregon Supreme Court today affirmed an appeals court ruling restoring a 1999 punitive damages award of $79.5 million in the lung cancer wrongful death trial of Jesse Williams. Click here for more information on the case.

Virginia:
 
Virginia court reinstates Philip Morris lawsuit
The Virginia Court of Appeals has reinstated an environmental group’s lawsuit challenging a wastewater discharge permit granted by the state to Philip Morris. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation argues that a State Water Control Board permit authorized the discharge of excessive levels of nitrogen and phosphorous into the James River from the Philip Morris Park 500 Plant in Chester. Click here for more information.

Washington:
 
RJ Reynolds sues Washington state over cigarette promotions ban
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. has filed a lawsuit to overturn a recently enacted Washington state law prohibiting tobacco companies from offering samples of its products to adult smokers in bars, nightclubs and other adult-only venues. In its court filing, R.J. Reynolds contends the new law violates the First Amendment and is preempted by the Federal Cigarette Labeling & Advertising Act. Click here for more information.

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Tobacco Control Legal Consortium’s February/March Legal Update now available
Now accessible is the latest Legal Update from the Tobacco Control Legal Consortium, with highlights of recent legal developments that affect the tobacco control community. The February/March issue contains a link to an informative new Legal Consortium publication titled Public Health Policy for Internet Cigarette Retailers. It also contains overviews of a few recent significant U.S. tobacco lawsuits, information on the decision by California's Air Resources Board to classify secondhand smoke a toxic air contaminant, a brief article on February's global tobacco treaty conference in Geneva, and updates on the latest countries to pass smoke-free legislation. Finally, it includes links to a few helpful resources on tobacco law-related issues and upcoming events. To view the latest issue, click here.

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