Legal
State
Cigarette makers ask to block ruling in 4,000 cases (FL)
A group of plaintiffs involved in lawsuits in Florida have asked a federal appeals court to allow them to use a 2006 Florida decision that upheld factual findings regarding tobacco industry practices to prove that smoking causes illness, instead of requiring each plaintiff to provide extensive expert testimony. Cigarette manufacturers have asked the court to block federal trial courts from applying the decision, claiming it would deny them of a fair trial. More than 4,000 Florida smokers are suing major tobacco companies as part of a former class-action lawsuit that has allowed plaintiffs to pursue individual suits after a $145 billion judgment was thrown out but the Florida Supreme Court. A verdict allowing the 2006 decision to be used in court would make it easier for the plaintiffs to win their cases. Click here to read more.
Smoker's $300 million award to be overturned (FL)
A Florida judge has decided to reject a $300 million verdict against Philip Morris USA after determining that the amount was excessive and needed to be reduced. Judge Jeffrey Streitfeld overturned the jury’s award of $300 million in compensatory and punitive damages, saying that the amount was based on the jury’s anger and not on just compensation. The case is one of thousands of pending suits against cigarette manufacturers filed after the Florida Supreme Court threw out a class action suit. Read more here.
Tobacco verdict: R.J. Reynolds must pay $9M to Florida family (FL)
Following a lengthy trial, a jury has ordered R.J. Reynolds to pay the family of former smoker Charles Gray $7 million in compensatory damages and $2 million in punitive damages. The jury found that the company fraudulently represented the health risks of smoking, and did so intentionally, making them 60% responsible for Mr. Gray’s death from lung cancer in 1994. R.J. Reynolds is expected to contest the award, as it was not reduced even though Mr. Gray was found to be 40% at fault for his death. Click here to read more.
Suit over secondhand smoke targets real estate broker (MA)
A woman is suing her real estate broker for damages after he allegedly misrepresented the source of cigarette smoke odor in a condo she purchased. Alyssa Burrage claims that her broker told her during her visits to the condo that the smoky odor was from the previous tenant and would disappear in time. After moving in, she discovered that the actual source of the smoke was her downstairs neighbor. Burrage, who is asthmatic, had to move out of the condo after the residents of the downstairs condo allegedly would not stop smoking indoors or seal the unit. Click here to read more. Update: Woman loses secondhand smoke case A jury has thrown out Burrage’s suit against her real estate broker. The plaintiff had asked for over $70,000 in damages for expenses associated with remodeling the condo, personal injury, and emotional distress. While disappointed that she did not win the lawsuit, she hopes her case will make other brokers more careful about secondhand smoke issues. Click here to read more.
R.J. Reynolds settles with Gansler (MD)
R.J. Reynolds has settled with Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler, agreeing to pay $150,000, stop using cartoons and brand name merchandise for marketing, and restrict marketing in the state. Gansler filed suit against the company for using cartoons and brand name merchandise as part of its Camel Farm campaign in 2007, a violation of the 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. Several other states filed suits in response to the campaign; Maryland is the only state to date to reach a settlement. Read more here.
Visitors’ authority seeks dismissal of lawsuit aimed at tobacco shows (NV)
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is seeking dismissal of a lawsuit filed by the American Cancer Society (ACS) regarding changes to the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act, claiming that the ACS lacks standing to bring a lawsuit. The ACS filed suit in December 2009, arguing that a law passed allowing smoking at tobacco trade shows was added on to an anti-stalking measure, and thus violates state law prohibiting unrelated measures to be on the same bill. The Convention Authority says the ACS cannot file suit because they have not been injured by the law, and that their opposition to smoking is part of a political agenda. Click here to read more.
Creek Nation files lawsuit over state tax code (OK)
The Creek Nation has filed suit over an alteration to Oklahoma’s tax codes that prevents the Creek tribe from buying and shipping cigarettes made by other tribe’s tobacco manufacturers, forcing them to purchase from a state-licensed wholesaler. The Creek argue that it is illegal for the state to regulate or enforce laws that interfere with tribal commerce and request that the court prohibit the state from applying Master Settlement Agreement regulations to the tribe. The tax code changes went into effect on January 1 and affect all tribal smoke shops that do not have a compact with the state. Click here to read more, or view the lawsuit.
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National
Electronic cigarette imports on hold
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has stayed a lower court order that prohibited the FDA from seizing electronic cigarette shipments. In its appeal, the FDA defended its authority to regulate products containing nicotine, arguing that the federal law that allows the agency to regulate tobacco products does not prevent it from regulating products containing nicotine. A lower court had granted a preliminary injunction in January, preventing the FDA from stopping the import of e-cigarettes, but the panel of appeals judges put the order on hold to allow themselves more time to consider the FDA’s arguments. Click here to read more.
U.S., big tobacco take racketeering case to top court
The federal government and three cigarette makers have each filed separate appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the Court to review a racketeering verdict against the companies that was upheld in an appeals court. Philip Morris USA, Lorillard, and R. J. Reynolds wish to have the verdict overturned, as they believe the government had improperly invoked the racketeering statute. The government argues that the appeals court should have allowed the government to collect billions of dollars in past tobacco profits to put towards national anti-smoking campaigns. It could take several months for the Supreme Court to review the case and decide whether to hear it. Click here to read more about the appeals, or click here to read a press release about the petition. Click here to read the petition.
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International
Canada government seeks to avoid tobacco liability (Canada)
The Canadian government has filed an application to the Supreme Court of Canada, appealing an earlier court decision that made them a third-party defendant in British Columbia’s lawsuit against the tobacco industry. The tobacco industry successfully argued in December that the government should share responsibility for any damages caused by tobacco because the products are legal and the government collected taxes from their sale. If the ruling is upheld, the Canadian government could share financial liability with the tobacco companies for tobacco-related health consequences. Read more here.
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