Legal

State

Settlement: Smoker awarded $1.07M in lawsuit against RJ Reynolds (FL)
A Florida jury has awarded $1.07 million in damages to Julia Reese, an 82 year old woman who has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and Stage II laryngeal cancer. R.J. Reynolds was found only 30% liable for Reese’s illness because Reese never made any serious attempts to quit smoking. The case is one of hundreds of Engle progeny cases that have stemmed from a class-action lawsuit thrown out by the Florida Supreme Court in 2006. Read more here.

Cigarette makers rejected by top court on $270 million award (LA)
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review a Louisiana court battle between smokers and tobacco companies Philip Morris USA and R.J. Reynolds. As a result, the Louisiana court decision will stand, and the two tobacco companies will be required to spend more than $270 million on a Louisiana smoking cessation program. The tobacco companies argued that the state courts violated the Constitution by letting the case move forward as a class action lawsuit on behalf of Louisiana smokers wanting to participate in a smoking cessation program, instead of requiring individual smokers to illustrate their entitlement to damages. Read more here.

Roll-your-own cigarette machines illegally avoid taxes (NH)
At the end of June, the New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled that a tobacco retailer that allows customers to use cigarette rolling machines to roll their own cigarettes should pay tobacco settlement fees as a tobacco manufacturer would. The cigarette retailer involved in the case sells loose tobacco, and charges customers a small fee for the use of cigarette rolling machines that can roll 200 cigarettes in ten minutes. The retailer unsuccessfully argued that customers who operate the machines should be classified as cigarette manufacturers, rather than the retail establishment that houses the machines. In an attempt to separate the cigarette manufacturing from the tobacco sales, the retailer has recently moved the cigarette rolling machines to a separate business housed in a convenience store next door; another court will determine whether this change is sufficient to remove the retailer’s classification as a tobacco manufacturer. Click here for more details.

Roll-your-own machines draw legal attention (WV)
In June, the West Virginia Department of Administration sent a letter to the state Attorney General raising concerns that more retailers are offering hand-operated cigarette rolling machines to allow smokers to roll their own cigarettes. The tax on loose tobacco is dramatically lower than the tax on cigarettes, and it is believed that the roll-your-own cigarette machines are enabling smokers to avoid paying cigarette excise taxes. The Attorney General’s office has announced that it is involved in ongoing litigation with respect to cigarette rolling machines, but has not released any further details. Read more here, or click here to read about the rising popularity of loose tobacco in West Virginia. News reports from New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington State have highlighted the rise of cigarette rolling machines.

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