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Florida Widow Wins $5.9 Million In Tobacco Wrongful Death Suit
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A federal jury in Florida returned a verdict of $5.9 million in compensatory damages April 18 to the widow of a Florida man and against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. (Thelma Aycock v....
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$16.8M Tobacco Verdict Is Vacated Over Failure To Prove Engle Membership
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A Florida appeals court vacated a $16.8 million tobacco wrongful death verdict and ordered a new trial, saying in a May 10 opinion that the trial judge did not require the plaintiff...
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Tobacco Companies Rely On 'Ersatz Law' In Appeal, Florida Plaintiffs Say
ATLANTA - The case on which tobacco companies base their argument that a landmark Florida decision holding certain conduct to have res judicata effect violates their due process rights, Fayerweather v....
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Tobacco Companies Ask That Supersedeas Bonds Be Subject To State Limits
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The nation's three largest tobacco companies on April 23 asked judges presiding over consolidated federal death and injury litigation in Florida stemming from Engle v. Liggett...
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Tobacco Companies Ask Court To Bifurcate Upcoming Trials
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - As trial approaches for a group of tobacco wrongful death and injury cases, the defendant companies on April 27 asked the Florida federal judges overseeing the cases to bifurcate...
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Philip Morris Argues Proposed Deposition Is Precluded By Engle
MIAMI - The preclusive effects of Engle v. Liggett Group, Inc. (945 So. 2d 1246 $(Fla. 2006$)); See October 2007, Page 4), which bars certain defenses by tobacco companies, should also apply to a...
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Tobacco Companies Take Due Process Complaint Back Into Federal Court
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - In the wake of their failure to persuade the Florida Supreme Court that its landmark decision in Engle v. Liggett Group Inc. (945 So. 2d 1246 $(Fla. 2006$)); See October 2007, Page...
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California Appeals Court Affirms $2.9M Fee In Tobacco Ad Dispute
SAN DIEGO - A California appeals court on April 26 affirmed an award of $2.9 million in attorney fees stemming from the state's contention that a national advertisement by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co....
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Pennsylvania Won't Take Industry's Payment Offer To Tobacco Settlement
HARRISBURG, Pa. - Pennsylvania will continue to litigate its dispute about whether major tobacco companies are entitled to a reduction in their payments to the state under the 46-state Master...
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Judge: Res Judicata Bars Wrongful Death Claims Against Nondiverse Tobacco...
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A Missouri federal judge has denied remand of tobacco wrongful death claims to state court, saying in a May 3 opinion that claims against nondiverse tobacco sellers were prohibited...
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2nd Circuit Certifies Tobacco Medical Monitoring To New York Court Of Appeals
NEW YORK - Saying it is unable to predict how state courts would rule, the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on May 1 certified to the New York Court of Appeals the question of whether medical...
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Judge: Inmate Failed To Exhaust Remedies To Avoid Prison Smoke
NEWARK, N.J. - A New Jersey federal judge dismissed an inmate's complaint that exposure to secondhand smoke from cellmates jeopardized his health and violated his civil rights, saying in an April 16...
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Snuff User's Case Dismissed For Lack Of Reliance
GREENVILLE, Miss. - A former snuff user who alleged that tobacco companies misrepresented smokeless tobacco as a safer alternative to cigarettes failed to prove she reasonably relied on those alleged...
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Maryland Court Affirms Decision Striking Down Local Cigar Ordinance
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - A county ordinance regulating the sale of single cigars conflicts with and is preempted by Maryland law regulating the same conduct, the state's Court of Appeals said in an April 25...
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Companies: Restrictions On Discounts, Flavored Tobacco Are Unconstitutional
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - A city's ban on cigarette discount coupons and restrictions on the sale of certain flavored tobacco products violates the companies' First Amendment rights and state law and is...
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U.S. Supreme Court Won't Weigh Constitutionality Of New Cigarette Warnings
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court on April 22 declined to resolve an apparent circuit conflict regarding the constitutionality of graphic cigarette warning labels the U.S. Food and Drug...
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Appeals Court Affirms Dismissal Of Company's Tobacco Tax Complaints
BATON ROUGE, La. - Louisiana's First Circuit Court of Appeal on March 21 affirmed a lower court's finding that the invoice price upon which Louisiana's tobacco excise tax is imposed should be...
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U.S. Judge: Government's Conduct In Tobacco Sting Was Within The Law
CAMDEN, N.J. - A New Jersey federal judge denied dismissal to defendants who allege that agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) lured them into criminal activity by...
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Philip Morris Sues New York Retailers Alleging Sales Of Phony Marlboros
BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Saying lower-quality counterfeit Chinese cigarettes damage the reputation of its products, the manufacturer of Marlboro cigarettes has sued 29 groceries and convenience stores,...
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Judge: Consumer Was Apprised Of Rights In Debt Collection Letter
MILWAUKEE - A federal judge in Wisconsin on May 14 granted a debt collector's motion to dismiss a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) lawsuit, ruling that a consumer failed to show that a debt...
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