http://www.lexisnexis.com/mealeys/news.aspx Headline Tobacco Legal News from LexisNexis® en-us http://www.lexisnexis.com/mealeys/images/lexismealeyslogo.gif 130 29 http://www.lexisnexis.com/mealeys/news.aspx Copyright 2012 http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-3%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%201%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The $5 million punitive damages portion of what was originally an $8 million verdict was vacated May 2 by a Florida appeals court, which found that the reliance required for the fraudulent concealment claim on which the punitive damages award was based was outside the state's statute of repose (Philip Morris USA Inc. v. Elaine Hess, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Stuart Hess, No. 4D09-2666, Fla. App., 4th Dist.; 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 6882; See February 2009, Page 4). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-3%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%202%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The government cannot ban truthful speech, such as the claim that smokeless tobacco is safer than cigarettes, a retailer argues in a petition to overturn a Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decision that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's regulations formulated under the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act do not violate the companies' First Amendment right against compelled speech (Discount Tobacco City & Lottery Inc., et al. v. United States of America, et al., No. 10-5234 and 10-5235, 6th Cir.; See March 2012, Page 10). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-3%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%203%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank WASHINGTON, D.C. - A District of Columbia ordinance prohibiting the sale of tobacco wrappers often used to make marijuana-filled "blunts" was so poorly drafted as to be unenforceable, a manufacturer of rolling papers says in an April 30 motion for summary judgment in District of Columbia federal court (National Tobacco Company v. District of Columbia, No. 11-cv-388 [RLW], D. D.C.; See September 2011, Page 7). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-3%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%204%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank BOSTON - R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. (RJR) and Philip Morris USA Inc. seek more than $330,000 in fees and costs in an April 16 motion stemming from their successful challenge to a Worcester, Mass., city ordinance restricting tobacco advertising on the ground that the ban violated tobacco companies' constitutional free speech rights (National Association of Tobacco Outlets, Inc., et al. v. City of Worcester, Massachusetts, et al., No. 4:11-cv-40110-DPW, D. Mass.; See April 2012, Page 12). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-3%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%205%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation rejected the objections of cigarette companies about possible disparate class certification rulings and, in an April 14 order, remanded the four remaining consolidated cases without a ruling on class certification to their transferor courts (In re: Light Cigarettes Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, MDL No. 2068, JPMDL, No. 1:09-md-2068, D. Maine; See January 2012, Page 5). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-3%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%206%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank NEW ORLEANS - An amended complaint filed by the mother of a deceased casino employee asserting wrongful death stemming from exposure to secondhand smoke is a new lawsuit that is time barred because it does not "relate back" to her original suit, the casino says in an April 26 motion to dismiss (Denise Bevrotte v. Caesar's Entertainment Corporation Inc., No. 2:11-cv-00543, E.D. La.; See March 2012, Page 19). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-3%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%207%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank NEW YORK - Salem cigarettes are not plain tobacco wrapped in paper, a woman who won judgments totaling more than $18 million at trial for loss of her larynx to cancer argues in a May 2 brief in the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, but instead are a device carefully engineered to deliver an addictive amount of nicotine and carcinogens to the smoker (Barbara Izzarelli v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., No. 11-3865, 2nd Cir; See February 2012, Page 14). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-3%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%208%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank BOSTON - A Native American inmate has not been able to attend religious ceremonies for eight months due to a delay in the training and certification of a native volunteer to supervise the ceremonies, the Massachusetts Department of Corrections (DOC) says in an April 13 brief, adding that it expected monthly ceremonies to resume May 7 (Derek Sincere Black Wolf Cryer v. Massachusetts Department of Correction, et al., No. 1:09-10238-PBS, D. Mass.; See October 2011, Page 9). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-3%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%209%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank SPOKANE, Wash. - The Washington federal judge presiding over litigation stemming from a February 2011 tobacco raid on a Native American tribe's land issued a stay of discovery deadlines April 17 in response to a motion by the parties saying they wish to engage in settlement discussions (Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation v. Eric H. Holder Jr., attorney general of the United States, et al., No. CV-11-3028, E.D. Wash.; See April 2012, Page 16). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-2%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%201%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court on March 27 let stand tens of millions of dollars in Florida state court compensatory and punitive damages verdicts against tobacco companies and set the stage for potentially thousands of additional trials (R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company v. Mathilde C. Martin, No. 11-754; Philip Morris USA, Inc., et al., v. Franklin D. Campbell, No. 11-741, U.S. Sup. See March 2012, Pages 8 and 9). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-2%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%202%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank MIAMI - A Florida woman's claim that cigarette smoking caused chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or emphysema was reinstated April 11 by the Third District Florida Court of Appeal, which ruled that a defense expert violated an order in limine and offered "speculative" opinions that persuaded a jury that the plaintiff's discovery of her injury was outside the statute of limitations (Phyllis Frazier vs. Philip Morris USA Inc. et al., No. 3D11-580, Fla. App. 3rd Dist.; 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 5476). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-2%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%203%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A $79.2 million verdict on behalf of the daughter of a smoker who died from lung cancer was vacated as excessive on April 9 by the First District Florida Court of Appeal (R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, v. Diane Webb, No. 10-6557, Fla. App., 1st Div.; 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 5324; See November 2010, Page 4). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-2%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%204%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank TAMPA, Fla. - The Second District Florida Court of Appeal on March 30 affirmed a $2.5 million verdict in a smoking wrongful death case but certified a question about the constitutionality of the preclusionary elements of Engle v. Liggett Group, Inc. (945 So. 2d 1246 [Fla. 2006]) to the Florida Supreme Court (Philip Morris USA, Inc., et al. v. James L. Douglas, as Personal Representative for the Estate of Charlotte M. Douglas, No. 2D10-3236. Fla. App., 2nd Dist.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-2%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%205%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A $3.75 million verdict on behalf of the widow of a man who died of lung cancer after 46 years of smoking cigarettes sold by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. (RJR) and Philip Morris USA Inc. was affirmed March 23 by a Florida appeals court (R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, et al. v. Anna Huish, et al., No. 1D11-2492, Fla. App., 1st Dist.; See March 2011, Page 12). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-2%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%206%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank BOSTON - The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes (131 S. Ct. 2541 [2011]) does not justify decertification of a class of smokers seeking medical monitoring to check for incipient cancers, a Massachusetts federal judge ruled March 21 (Kathleen Donovan, et al. v. Philip Morris USA, Inc., No. 1:06cv12234, D. Mass.; See December 2011, Page 15). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-2%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%207%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank WASHINGTON, D.C. - A District of Columbia federal judge on March 29 dismissed survivor claims filed by the son of a deceased smoker, saying the plaintiff had failed to satisfy minimal pleadings under federal precedent (Bernard S. Levi, et al., v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., et al., No. 1:11-cv-00482 [EGS], D. D.C.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44215). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-2%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%208%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank NEW ORLEANS - The pendency of a putative tobacco class action lawsuit does not rescue a personal injury case from dismissal for abandonment, Louisiana's Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal said April 11, but the court expressly did not take a position on whether the pending class tolled the statute of limitations allowing the plaintiff to refile her suit (Ivory Hunter, Sr., et al. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, et al., No. 2011-CA-1433, La. App., 4th App. Cir.; 2012 La. App. LEXIS 518). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-2%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%209%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank NEW YORK - A New York federal judge has denied dismissal of a civil complaint filed by The City of New York that alleges the smuggling of cigarettes from a low-tax state into the city in violation of the Contraband Cigarette Tax Act (CCTA) and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, saying in a March 26 opinion that the cigarettes become contraband by introduction into a jurisdiction in which the appropriate taxes have not been paid (The City of New York v. Israel Chavez, et al., No. 11CV2691, S.D. N.Y.; See September 2011, Page 13). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-2%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%2010%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank BOSTON - A Massachusetts federal judge has struck down a Worcester, Mass., city ordinance restricting tobacco advertising, saying in a March 31 opinion that the ban violated tobacco companies' constitutional free speech rights (National Association of Tobacco Outlets, Inc., et al. v. City of Worcester, Massachusetts, et al., No. 4:11-cv-40110-DPW, D. Mass.; 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 154540). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-2%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%2011%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank RALEIGH, N.C. - The North Carolina Court of Appeals has upheld a law that exempts private country clubs from a statewide smoking ban, saying in a March 20 opinion that the law does not deny due process rights of nightclub owners because its purpose is to prevent the public from secondhand smoke (Benjamin Edwards v. Pitt County Health Director, No. 10 CVD 1231, N.C. App.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-2%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%2012%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank WASHINGTON, D.C. - The government may not require companies to "vilify their own products" regardless of how worthy the policy goal, the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and the American Advertising Federation (AAF) argue in an April 4 amicus brief in federal appeals court opposing "disturbing, emotionally charged" new cigarette warnings (R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, et al. v. United States Food and Drug Administration, et al., No. 11-5332, D.C. Cir.; See March 2012, Page 12). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-2%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%2013%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank SAN FRANCISCO - The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has thrown out some contraband cigarette charges against the operators of a Native American retail shop, saying in a divided April 6 opinion that some of the sales were legal and some were outside the statute of limitations (USA v. C. Marvin Wilbur, No. 10-30185, USA v. Joan C. Wilbur, No. 10-30186, USA v. April M. Wilbur, No. 10-30187, USA v. Brenda R. Wilbur, No. 10-30188, 9th Cir.; 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 6962). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-2%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%2014%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank SPOKANE, Wash. - The Washington federal judge presiding over litigation stemming from a February 2011 tobacco raid on a Native American tribe's land has denied reconsideration of a recent order denying preliminary relief and, in an April 4 ruling, cautioned the parties against unnecessary motion practice (Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation v. Eric H. Holder Jr., attorney general of the United States, et al., No. CV-11-3028, E.D. Wash.; See February 2012, Page 17). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-2%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%2015%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank NEW CASTLE, Del. - Monsanto Co., its Argentina subsidiaries and the tobacco companies that demand contract farmers apply glyphosate herbicide on tobacco growing operations in Argentina are accused in a complaint filed April 5 in the New Castle County, Del., Superior Court of exposing farmers to harmful agrochemicals, which allegedly causes birth defects in their children (Pabla Chalanuk, et al. v. Alliance International Inc., et al., No. N12C-04-042, Del. Super., New Castle Co.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-1%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%201%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank MIAMI - A Florida jury ordered cigarette maker Lorillard Inc. to pay the widow of a smoker $25 million in punitive damages on March 6, one week after the jury awarded her $16 million in compensatory damages (Dorothy Alexander v. Lorillard Tobacco Co., No. 07-46830-ca-10, Fla. Cir., 11th Jud. Cir., Dade Co.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-1%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%202%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A Florida appeals court overturned a $40.8 million punitive damages verdict in a tobacco wrongful death case as excessive on Feb. 14 but let stand a $10.8 million award of compensatory damages, the highest so far in Florida tobacco litigation (R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company v. Lyantie Townsend, No. ID104585, Fla. App., 1st Dist.; 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 2122; See May 2010, Page 4). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-1%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%203%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - A Florida state appeals court panel on Feb. 22 reversed a $1.9 million tobacco death judgment against Philip Morris USA Inc., saying that a jury's answer about when a deceased plaintiff knew about her injury meant that the plaintiff missed the state's four-year statute of limitations (Philip Morris USA, Inc. v. Leon Barbanell, No. 4D09-3987, Fla. App., 4th Dist.; 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 2657; See August 2009, Page 4). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-1%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%204%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A Florida federal court jury found for the defense Feb. 16 in the first federal tobacco trial based on the Florida Supreme Court's landmark ruling in Engle v. Liggett Group, Inc. (945 So.2d 1246 [Fla. Sup. 2006], cert denied, 128 S.Ct. 96 [2007]; See October 2007, Page 4), according to a press release issued by Philip Morris USA Inc. (In re: Engle Cases, No. 3:09-cv-10000-J-32HTS; Victoria Gollihue v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, et al., No. 3:09-cv-10530, M.D. Fla., Jacksonville Div.; See February 2012, Page 11). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-1%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%205%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court should deny certiorari to Philip Morris USA's petition for review of a $7.8 million Florida verdict based on the landmark decision in Engle v. Liggett Group, Inc. (945 So. 2d 1246 [Fla. 2006]; See Oct. 2007, Page 4), a Florid widower says in a Feb. 12 brief arguing that the company's petition was filed nearly six months late (Philip Morris USA, Inc., et al., v. Franklin D. Campbell, No. 11-741, U.S. Sup.; See February 2012, Page 12, and previous story in this issue). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-1%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%206%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Florida smoker's widow who won a $28.3 million state court jury award over her husband's death has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to deny certiorari to R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR)'s petition for review, saying in a Feb. 24 brief that she proved the elements of her case independently of the preclusive effects of a landmark case in the state (R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company v. Mathilde C. Martin, No. 11-754, U.S. Sup.; See February 2012, Page 12). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-1%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%207%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Given that tobacco companies have learned to circumvent bans on marketing to minors, a divided Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said March 19, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's proposal for large, graphic warnings on packs pursuant to the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (Pub. L. No. 111-31, 123 Stat. 1776 [2009]) does not violate the companies' First Amendment right against compelled speech (Discount Tobacco City & Lottery Inc., et al. v. United States of America, et al., No. 10-5234 and 10-5235, 6th Cir.; 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 5614; See November 2010, Page 10). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-1%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%208%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Food and Drug Administration's proposed graphic warnings for cigarette packs violate the First Amendment bar against compelled speech, a District of Columbia federal judge ruled March 1 in granting summary judgment in favor of five tobacco companies (R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, et al. v. United States Food and Drug Administration, et al., No. 1:11-1482, D. D.C.; 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26257). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-1%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%209%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank ROCKVILLE, Md. - One week after its attempt to impose graphic warnings onto cigarette packs that it hopes will discourage youthful smoking was defeated in court, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released a report March 8 warning that tobacco use among juveniles remains a major public health problem. http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-1%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%2010%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank BOSTON - A Massachusetts federal judge has dismissed claims by the estate of a woman who died in a cigarette-induced house fire, saying March 7 that the plaintiff had not proved that Philip Morris USA Inc. knew in 1968 when the plaintiff's decedent became addicted that cigarettes were addictive and could cause fatal fires (Rosalie C. Sarro v. Philip Morris USA Inc., No. 1:08-cv-10224-MLW, D. Mass.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-1%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%2011%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank CINCINNATI - The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 22 affirmed the dismissal of antitrust and constitutional challenges brought by General Tobacco to the national tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) between tobacco manufacturers and numerous states (VIBO Corp., Inc., d/b/a General Tobacco v. Jack Conway, in his official capacity as Attorney General, Commonwealth of Kentucky, et al., No. 10-5043, 6th Cir.; 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 3475; See December 2011, Page 5). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-1%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%2012%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank RICHMOND, Va. - The federal government's interest in two states' escrow accounts created by the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) and subject to forfeiture pursuant to criminal conviction is superior to the interest of states absent a judgment or settlement favoring a state, the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said Feb. 16, reversing a lower court (United States of America v. State of Oregon, et al., No. 10-2154, 4th Cir.; See April 2011, Page 12). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-1%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%2013%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank NEW ORLEANS - A Louisiana federal judge has dismissed the surviving claim in a putative class action over casino employee exposure to secondhand smoke, saying Feb. 27 that the plaintiff did not properly assert a claim for wrongful death in her complaint (Denise Bevrotte v. Caesar's Entertainment Corporation Inc., No. 2:11-cv-00543, E.D. La.; See January 2012, Page 11). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-1%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%2014%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank LAS VEGAS - A Nevada federal magistrate judge on March 7 ordered Wynn Las Vegas LLC to make a corporate representative deposition witness available to a casino worker who has sued over secondhand smoke exposure and required the plaintiff to answer interrogatories and requests for production concerning her health (Kanie Kastroll v. Wynn Resorts Ltd., No. 2:09-cv-2034, D. Nev.; See November 2011, Page 6). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=26-1%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%2015%20(2012)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target=_blank DENVER - An Oklahoma Native American tribe's sovereignty is not adversely affected by the state's tax stamp scheme for keeping untaxed cigarettes out of the hands of non-native smokers, the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said Feb. 28 (Muscogee (Creek) Nation v. Scott Pruitt, Attorney General of Oklahoma, et al., No. 11-7005, 10th Cir.; 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 4022).