Mealey's Tobacco
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March 07, 2022
Philip Morris Urges Florida Supreme Court To Review $3.2M Engle Attorney Fee Award
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Tobacco company Philip Morris USA Inc. (PM USA) filed a March 2 brief on jurisdiction to the Florida Supreme Court urging the court to find that a split appellate panel erred by affirming a $3.2 million attorney fee award to a plaintiff who won an $11 million verdict because the fees were calculated based in part on rates for out-of-state lawyers.
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March 04, 2022
COMMENTARY: Public Nuisance, COVID-19, And The Re-Emergence Of The “Super Tort”
By Stacey Deere, Edd Gaus and EJ Odigwe
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March 04, 2022
Florida Court: Expert Unreliable, Attorney Fee Award Reversed In Tobacco Case
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Florida appeals court on March 2 ruled that a lower court erred in refusing to assess the reliability under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc. of an expert’s testimony on appropriate attorney fees in a long-running tobacco case, reversing the award of more than $7 million in attorney fees and prejudgment interest against the tobacco company and remanding the case.
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March 03, 2022
Juul, Co-Founder Says Court-Ordered Deposition Is ‘Irrelevant’ To Engle Trial
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Juul Labs Inc. (JLI) and its co-founder James Monsees on March 1 urged a Florida appellate panel during oral arguments to quash a trial court’s order allowing an Engle plaintiff to depose Monsees, arguing that the proposed topics of the deposition are “irrelevant” to the trial and represent an attempt by plaintiff’s counsel to obtain discovery from JLI for use in other cases.
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March 03, 2022
Tobacco Companies Urge Panel To Reverse $149M Verdict To Smoker’s Widower
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.— Two tobacco companies during March 1 oral arguments urged a Florida appellate panel to reverse a $149 million Engle verdict to the widower of a deceased smoker, saying the jury acted with prejudice by awarding $74.1 million in punitives against each company based on the smoker’s age at death, with one company also arguing the widower was not entitled to bring a wrongful death action based on the date he married the smoker.
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March 01, 2022
Final Approval Of $90M Settlement Sought In Altria Securities Class Action
RICHMOND, Va. — Lead plaintiffs in a securities class action against Altria Group Inc., e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc. and the companies’ executives asked a federal judge in Virginia on Feb. 24 for final approval of a $90 million settlement to resolve shareholder claims that the defendants concealed the regulatory and legal risks associated with Juul when Altria invested in it and also moved for approval of an attorney fees award.
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February 28, 2022
Jury Awards Nearly $15.5M To Family Of Smoker Who Died At 50
CLEARWATER, Fla. — A Florida state court jury on Feb. 25 awarded the widow and children of a smoker who died from lung cancer at age 50 punitive damages of nearly $8.5 million, in addition to a previously awarded $7 million in compensatory damages, after finding the smoker relied on a tobacco company’s statements made in furtherance of an industrywide agreement to conceal the addictiveness and health risks of smoking. VIDEO FROM THE TRIAL IS AVAILABLE.
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February 25, 2022
FTC Judge Finds E-Cigarette Competition Grew After Altria Investment In Juul
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Trade Commission administrative law judge (ALJ) on Feb. 23 publicly released an initial decision dismissing all claims brought by the FTC against tobacco company Altria Group Inc. and e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc. (JLI) for alleged antitrust activity after finding that competition in the e-cigarette market increased and prices went down after Altria acquired a 35% stake in JLI.
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February 25, 2022
Virginia Supreme Court: Tobacco Company Owed Refund For Tax On Stored Leaf
RICHMOND, Va. — The Virginia Supreme Court on Feb. 10 affirmed a circuit court and found that a tobacco company is entitled to nearly $12 million in refunds because it overpaid its state taxes by paying usage taxes on tobacco leaf it stored in a Virginia facility, which the court found was not “used” in a manner that would make it a taxable property of the business.
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February 24, 2022
Florida High Court Quashes, Remands 2 More Pre-1999 Engle Punitive Awards
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Supreme Court on Feb. 18 accepted jurisdiction over two petitions for review of punitive damages awards to Engle plaintiffs under Florida’s pre-1999 punitive damages statute for post-1999 deaths, quashed the awards’ affirmances and remanded the cases to appellate court for reconsideration in light of the court’s ruling in Sheffield.
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February 22, 2022
Florida High Court Quashes, Remands Affirmance Of Pre-1999 Punitive Damages Award
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Supreme Court on Feb. 4 accepted jurisdiction over a petition and quashed an appellate court’s affirmance of an award issued under Florida’s pre-1999 punitive damages statute to the children of a smoker who died in 2000, ordering the case remanded for reconsideration in light of a recent holding that Engle wrongful death actions arise on the smoker’s death date.
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February 22, 2022
High Court Won’t Review California’s Regulation Of Tribal Cigarette Sales
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 22 denied a tribal tobacco business’s petition for a writ of certiorari seeking review of a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ ruling affirming dismissal of the business’s lawsuit challenging California’s taxation and regulation of its cigarette business in part on the grounds that it, as a tribe’s corporate form, is entitled to certain tribal protections under federal law.
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February 16, 2022
Altria Says Administrative Judge Dismissed FTC Challenge To Juul Investment
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Tobacco company Altria Group Inc. states in a Feb. 15 press release that an administrative law judge (ALJ) has dismissed a Federal Trade Commission antitrust complaint against Altria and Juul Labs Inc. (JLI) for engaging in allegedly anti-competitive behavior, noting that the decision is “subject to further review by FTC.”
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February 16, 2022
Judge Dismisses Exploding Vape Suit Against Battery Maker Despite Some Contacts
DETROIT — A Michigan federal judge on Feb. 14 granted a battery maker and its Michigan subsidiary’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a man who was burned by an exploding e-cigarette device, finding that while the defendant’s contacts with Michigan were established, the plaintiff failed to show that his cause of action arose out of those contacts.
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February 14, 2022
Magistrates Recommend Default Against 2 Bodegas For Infringing Juul Trademarks
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Two New York federal magistrate judges in separate reports and recommendations issued Feb. 9 and 10 both recommended entry of default judgment against two Brooklyn-based bodegas for selling counterfeit and grey market products that infringed the trademarks of e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc. (JLI).
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February 11, 2022
Vape Company To Drop Petition Challenging FDA’s Marketing Denial
CINCINNATI — A flavored vape company that was denied a stay of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s order blocking it from selling its products by the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals and lost a U.S. Supreme Court emergency application for a stay filed an unopposed motion Feb. 10 for voluntary dismissal of its petition for review in the Sixth Circuit.
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February 10, 2022
Tobacco Company Caused Smoker’s Death From Lung Cancer, Lawyer Tells Jury
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Lawyers for the widow of a smoker who died at age 50 from lung cancer and who is now suing a tobacco company in an Engle trial told a Florida state court jury on Feb. 7 that tobacco companies were actively conspiring to conceal the addictiveness and health risks of their products when he began smoking during the 1950s and that he was unable to quit. VIDEO FROM THE TRIAL IS AVAILABLE.
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February 09, 2022
Vape Company Sues Competitors For Allegedly Infringing ‘JUICY’ Trademark
RENO, Nev. — A tobacco, herb, e-liquids and vape company filed a lawsuit in Nevada federal court on Feb. 4 accusing three Florida-based entities of infringing the company’s “JUICY” trademarks with the sales of their vape products branded “JUUCY” based on the defendants’ conduct during a trade convention held recently in Las Vegas.
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February 07, 2022
11th Circuit Affirms Denial Of Cigar Maker’s Bid To Enjoin FDA Enforcement
ATLANTA — An 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Feb. 3 affirmed a district court’s ruling rejecting a flavored cigar manufacturer’s motion for emergency preliminary injunctive relief blocking the Food and Drug Administration from restricting its sales in response to its substantial equivalence reports, finding that the manufacturer has received no response and faces no enforcement actions from the FDA.
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February 07, 2022
Altria Owed $9.2M Tax Refund For Oregon Punitive Damages Payment, Judge Rules
RICHMOND, Va. — A Virginia federal judge on Jan. 19 ruled that Altria Group Inc. is entitled to a more than $9.2 million tax refund from the federal government in view of a punitive damages award it was ordered to pay on behalf of its subsidiary Philip Morris USA Inc. (PM USA) to the state of Oregon under Oregon’s split recovery statute after losing a wrongful death lawsuit.
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February 04, 2022
Judge Dismisses Exploding Vape Battery Suit With Prejudice, Finds No Jurisdiction
PHOENIX — An Arizona federal judge on Feb. 1 dismissed with prejudice a lawsuit brought against a South Korean battery manufacturer on behalf of a minor who was severely burned by an exploding vape battery after finding no jurisdiction over the manufacturer.
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February 04, 2022
Panel Vacates $42.5M Verdict For Smoker’s Widower Citing Jury Error
MIAMI — A Florida appellate panel on Feb. 2 for the second time vacated a multimillion-dollar verdict in favor of a smoker’s widower, vacating a jury’s award of $42.5 million in compensatory and punitive damages against two tobacco companies due to an error by the trial court in denying a for-cause challenge to a prospective juror who stated a belief that all daily cigarette smokers are addicted.
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February 04, 2022
Judge Approves $1.75M Settlement Of Former E-Cig Campaigners’ Class Action
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on Feb. 2 granted a motion for preliminary approval of a $1.75 million settlement to resolve wage and overtime claims brought by plaintiffs representing a putative class of 450 former canvassers against e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc., which funded the canvassers’ work on a campaign against the city of San Francisco’s ban on e-cigarette sales, and two affiliated entities.
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February 03, 2022
Panel Affirms Dismissal Of Exploding Vape Battery Suit For Lack Of Jurisdiction
RALEIGH, N.C. — A split North Carolina appellate panel on Feb. 1 affirmed the dismissal for lack of jurisdiction of a man’s lawsuit against a South Korean battery maker and its Delaware-based subsidiary for an incident in which he suffered severe burns after the battery in his e-cigarette exploded in his pocket.
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February 02, 2022
11th Circuit Stays Enforcement Of MDOs For 4 Vape Companies Pending Review
ATLANTA — A split 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Feb. 1 granted four vape companies’ motions to stay enforcement of the Food and Drug Administration’s marketing denial orders (MDOs) against them pending review of their petitions challenging the FDA’s denial of their premarket tobacco applications (PMTAs), which prohibits them from selling their products in the United States.