Lawsuits

National

Carolina Tobacco to pay $31 million in national settlement
Carolina Tobacco has been ordered to pay $13 million to 46 states as part of a settlement. The dispute over whether or not the Oregon-based tobacco manufacturer or the House of Prince in Riga, Latvia manufactured the Roger brand of cigarettes from 1999 to 2003 lead 46 states and the District of Columbia to file suit. Carolina Tobacco has now been recognized as the Roger’s manufacturer and will pay the required amount in order to compensate for healthcare costs associated with treating tobacco-related diseases as required under the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. Click here for the press release.

Court tosses punitive damages against Big Tobacco
The U.S. Supreme Court threw out a nearly $80 million punitive damages ruling against Philip Morris. In the suit, brought about by the family of an Oregon man who died from a smoking-related disease, an Oregon jury had awarded the plaintiff nearly $80 million in punitive damages. However, the Supreme Court decided to follow a recent precedent that punitive damages should, in most cases, match ‘actual’ damages. Click here to read more. Click here to read the Supreme Court opinion.

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State

Arkansas

Supreme Court agrees to take Philip Morris case
The Supreme Court agreed to consider whether tobacco companies can be protected from state court judgments since cigarettes are regulated by the federal government.  Justices had been asked to decide whether lawsuits that accuse cigarette-makers of wrongdoing can be shifted out of state court and into federal court, under a special provision. That's what happened in Arkansas, where Philip Morris was sued in a class-action case claiming the company violated state law in marketing its "light" cigarettes. The suit claimed the cigarettes were more dangerous than the company advertised. Tobacco companies have faced similar suits around the country. Click here to read more.

California

Tobacco lawsuits now can proceed in federal court in California
The California Supreme Court has removed a legal barrier that prevents sick smokers from suing tobacco companies. The previous ruling, centering on a 2002 ruling from the federal appeals court, stipulated that smokers must sue cigarette makers within two years of becoming addicted to smoking. The new decision stipulates that smokers must sue cigarette makers within two years of being diagnosed with a tobacco-related disease. This will allow tobacco-injury lawsuits to move forward in federal courts in California and may additionally influence other state federal courts with similar legal barriers. Click here to read more.

Connecticut

Connecticut Supreme Court upholds smoking ban in restaurants, bars
The Connecticut Supreme Court upheld the state’s smoking ban in restaurants and bars, rejecting a claim that exempting private clubs and the state’s two tribal casinos violated the rights of businesses affected by the law. The lawsuit was brought forth by a group of bar and restaurant owners who claimed that the ban was unconstitutional, hurt their businesses, and violated their equal protection rights because it excluded private clubs and casinos. The Court determined that the legislature had the right to make exemptions to the law. Click here to read more.

Hawaii

Panel lets smoking ban stay in place
Despite tales of empty bars and upset regulars, opponents of Hawaii's no-smoking law failed to persuade lawmakers to pass a bill that would have created a special liquor license allowing people to light up.  Those behind the permit proposed under House Bill 1800, which was deferred by a House Judiciary Committee, argued it would have helped bars, restaurants and clubs that have struggled since the strict smoking ban began three months ago.  Click here to read more.

Kentucky

Tobacco settlement nets Kentucky nearly $1 million
Kentucky has received $945,000 as part of a $55.4 million settlement reached with House of Prince and Scandinavian Tobacco, state Attorney General Greg Stumbo announced Friday. The settlement resolved a dispute over enforcement of a 1998 Master Settlement Agreement, which requires tobacco manufacturers that signed the agreement to make annual payments to states to help compensate them for billions of dollars in health care costs associated with treating tobacco-related diseases under state Medicaid programs, according to a news release.  Click here to read more. 

Louisiana

Cigarette makers must fund cessation plan, court says
An appeals court in New Orleans ruled that Philip Morris USA, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., and other U.S. cigarette makers must fund a 10-year smoking cessation program, including nicotine gum and patches, medications and telephone quit lines, in Louisiana. The ruling in the Scott Case limits the plan to Louisiana residents who began smoking before 1988, when the state passed a new law governing product-liability suits. The full press release can be found here.

Maine

Supreme Court seeks government view in Maine tobacco shipping case
The U.S. Supreme Court asked the federal government to provide its views on a tobacco delivery law in Maine that required shippers such as United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) to follow special handling procedures when delivering cigarettes or other tobacco products. The Maine law is aimed at reducing tobacco access to minors and requires carriers to, among other things, confirm the purchaser to provide proof they are old enough to legally buy tobacco. Maine, in its Supreme Court appeal, said the law was passed to stop some tobacco retailers from shipping products to get around age restrictions.  To read on, click here.

Minnesota

U.S. court won’t hear challenge to state cigarette fee
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a constitutional challenge from the tobacco companies regarding Minnesota’s 75 cent per pack health impact fee on cigarettes. The fee was enacted by the state in 2005 to recover state health costs caused by tobacco use. The state high court reversed a judge’s ruling that the fee violated a 1998 settlement between the state and tobacco companies meant to reimburse Minnesota for such health care costs. The tobacco companies’ appeal to the Supreme Court was denied without comment. Click here to learn more.

Nevada

Smoking ban stands in Nevada, with modifications
Nevada judge Douglas Herndon upheld most of the voter-approved smoking ban, ruling that parts of the measure providing a civil fine of up to $100 were constitutional, while ruling out stiffer penalties including jail time. The ruling was similar to a preliminary injunction he issued last month. It is unclear whether the ruling will generate an immediate appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court. Click here for more information.

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International

Court rejects South Korea’s first anti-tobacco lawsuits
A court rejected South Korea’s first lawsuits filed by 36 cancer victims and relatives in 1999 against the Korean tobacco firm, Korea Tobacco and Ginseng Co. Although the judges accepted the link between smoking and cancer, they said that there was not sufficient evidence that the victims’ diseases were caused by smoking. The court also found no evidence to support the plaintiffs’ claims that the company’s cigarettes were flawed in manufacturing and design and in failing to warn of the health risks involved in smoking. Click here for the full story.

Supreme Court of Canada to hear tobacco advertising case
The decade-old legal battle continues in Canada over the right of cigarette makers to promote their products, pitting the country’s Big Three tobacco companies against the federal government, six intervening provinces and the Canadian Cancer Society. The government and interveners are arguing that the federal advertising restrictions against tobacco advertising are clear and justifiable. Click here for more information.

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