Legal
National
Bands sue Rolling Stone, R.J. Reynolds over cigarette ads
The recent music-themed "The Farm: Free Range Music" Camel advertisement that several states are claiming in a lawsuit to be in violation of the tobacco settlement has spawned another lawsuit. Two bands featured in the Rolling Stone article are suing both Rolling Stone and R.J. Reynolds for unauthorized use of the bands’ names for commercial gain, and for unfair business practices. The lawsuit may become a class action case, with up to the full 150 bands included in the controversial feature potentially eligible to join. Read more here.
Philip Morris USA files lawsuits to stop importation of counterfeit cigarettes
Philip Morris USA filed two lawsuits in New York against two cigarette New York importers, C.H. Rhodes and Sun Star Trading, in an effort to end the companies’ imports of counterfeit cigarettes and to stop illegal use of Philip Morris trademarks. The lawsuits have resulted from seizures of thousands of illegally imported cigarettes. Click here for more information on the lawsuits.
Fewer suits by tobacco deadline
The deadline to join Florida’s class wave of lawsuits against tobacco companies such as Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds passed without the large deluge of cases that was expected. While the total number is still not known, approximately 10,000 smokers and ex-smokers have filed lawsuits, far short of the 700,000 who were eligible to sue individually after the Florida Supreme Court overturned a class action settlement in 1994. The smaller turnout of cases may save tobacco companies’ settlement money, but Florida lawyers are strategizing to maximize the damage these cases will inflict on Big Tobacco. Click here to read more about Florida’s class action lawsuit.
Top court will hear case on cigarette ads
The Supreme Court agreed to rule on the controversial case against Altria, the parent company of Philip Morris, regarding misleading advertising claims about the health effects of “light” cigarettes. The case pertains to whether state or federal law should be applied against tobacco companies’ questionable marketing methods. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston previously ruled against Altria. The plaintiffs state that the company failed to disclose to the F.T.C. and the public that the supposed health benefits of light cigarettes are cancelled out when smokers of light cigarettes alter their smoking practices in order to receive the same amount of nicotine as is delivered by regular cigarettes. Find out more about the case here.
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