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 2013 http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-3%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%201%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' 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. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., No. 3:09-cv-10928, M.D. Fla.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-3%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%202%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' 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 to prove membership in the class Engle v. Liggett Group Inc. (945 So. 2d 1246 $(Fla. 2006$)); See October 2007, Page 4) before allowing her to use that case's preclusive findings (Philip Morris USA Inc. v. Andy R. Allen Sr., No. 1D11-6061, Fla. App., 1st Dist.; 2013 Fla. App. LEXIS 7561). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-3%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%203%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' 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. Ritch (195 U.S. 276 $(1904$)), has no force, two plaintiffs argue in a May 1 brief before the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals (Pauline Walker, et al., v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., George Duke III v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., et al., No. 12-14731, 11th Cir.; See February 2013, Page 8). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-3%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%204%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' 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 Group Inc. (945 So. 2d 1246 $(Fla. 2006$)); See October 2007, Page 4) to limit to less than $10 million the supersedeas bonds they must post to appeal three verdicts totaling more than $22 million (In re: Engle Cases, No. 3:09-cv-10000-J-32JBT, M.D. Fla., Jacksonville Div.; See March 2013, Page 5). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-3%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%205%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' 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 them to avoid mentioning wrongful company conduct in the compensatory damages phase of trial (In re: Engle Cases, No. 3:09-cv-10000-J-32JBT, M.D. Fla., Jacksonville Div.; See March 2013, Pages 4 and 5). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-3%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%206%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' 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 plaintiff's discovery into the precluded issues, Philip Morris USA Inc. says in an April 22 brief in a Florida federal court (Ronnie L. Jacobson, et al. v. Philip Morris USA Inc., et al., No. 1:12-cv-23781, S.D. Fla.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-3%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%207%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' 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 4) unconstitutionally deprives tobacco companies of their due process rights, the companies on April 23 reassert the argument in the court where Florida federal litigation is consolidated (In re: Engle Cases, No. 3:09-cv-10000-J-32JBT, M.D. Fla., Jacksonville Div.; See March 2013, Page 4 and 5). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-3%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%208%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' 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. (RJR) used cartoons in violation of the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement's prohibition of advertisements aimed at minors (In re Tobacco Cases I, No. D061077, D061676, Calif. App., 4th Dist., Div. 1; 2013 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 2928). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-3%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%209%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' 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 Settlement Agreement rather than accept an industry settlement offer, Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane announced in an April 16 press release. http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-3%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%2010%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' 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 by res judicata (Christi Thompson, et al. v. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., et al., No. 4:12-cv-01326, W.D. Mo.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-3%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%2011%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' 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 monitoring of smokers for early cancer detection can exist as an independent cause of action and, if so, when the cause of action accrues (Marcia L. Caronia, et al. v. Philip Morris USA Inc., No. No. 11-316, 2nd Cir.; 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 8861; See July 2011, Pages 5 and 6). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-3%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%2012%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' 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 opinion that the prisoner failed to exhaust all administrative remedies (Kaseem Ali-X v. George Hayman, et al., No. 1:10-cv-4666, D. N.J.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54865). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-3%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%2013%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' 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 negligent misrepresentations, a Mississippi federal judge said in an April 26 opinion dismissing her injury claims (Rosie Vertison v. American Snuff Company LLC, et al., No. 4:11-CV-118, N.D. Miss., Greenville Div.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59939). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-3%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%2014%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' 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 decision (Altadis U.S.A. Inc., et al. v. Prince George's County, Maryland, No. 85, September Term, 2010, Md. App.; 2013 Md. LEXIS 272). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-3%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%2015%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' 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 preempted by the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (FSPTCA) of 2009, the companies say in an April 23 brief in the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals (National Association of Tobacco Outlets v. City of Providence, No. 13-1053, 1st Cir.; See January 2013, Page 11). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-3%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%2016%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' 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 Administration had proposed but has since withdrawn (American Snuff Company, et al. v. United States, et al., No. 12-521, U.S. Sup.; See June 2012, Page 8). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-3%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%2017%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' 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 calculated on the price the smokeless tobacco wholesaler pays to its supplier rather than the lower manufacturer's net invoice price and that the tax does not discriminate against out-of-state distributors (McLane Southern Inc. v. Cynthia Bridges, Secretary Of The Department Of Revenue of the State of Louisiana, No. 2010 CA 1259R, La. App., 1st Dist.; 2013 La. App. LEXIS 762; See February 2012, Page 8). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-3%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%2018%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' 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 selling them contraband cigarettes and lending them money, saying April 22 that ATF agents' possession of the untaxed cigarettes falls into the "performance of official duties" exception in the Contraband Cigarette Trafficking Act (CCTA) (United States of America v. Melido Fortuna, et al., No. 1:12-cr-00636 D. N.J.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57295). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-3%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%2019%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' 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, asserting infringement and unfair competition theories in an April 23 complaint filed in New York federal court (Philip Morris USA Inc. v. 5 Brothers Grocery Corp., et al., No. 1:13-cv-2451, E.D. N.Y.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-2%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%201%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' MIAMI - The Third District Florida Court of Appeal on April 10 reinstated tobacco wrongful death claims against Philip Morris USA Inc. that had been dismissed as untimely by a trial court, saying that despite the temporary presence of an ineligible plaintiff, the estate of Roberta Eisen "remained at all times the real party in interest" (The Estate of Roberta Eisen v. Philip Morris USA Inc., No. 3D12-1114, Fla. App., 3rd Dist.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-2%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%202%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' JACKSON, Miss. - Mississippi's law regarding nonparticipating manufacturers (NPMs) to the 46-state tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) unfairly discriminates against the companies, the state Supreme Court said April 4, also denying the prevailing party attorney fees under a federal statute because the plaintiffs had an adequate remedy at state law (Commonwealth Brands Inc., v. J. Ed Morgan, Commissioner of Revenue of the Department of Revenue, No. 2011-CA-01274-SCT, Miss. Sup.; 2013 Miss. LEXIS 141). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-2%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%203%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Despite having sold millions of cigarettes in the state, an Indonesian cigarette distributor is not subject to personal jurisdiction over its failure to pay a $168,316 assessment to the state's escrow fund pursuant to the national tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA), the Tennessee Supreme Court said in a divided March 28 opinion that reversed the state's Court of Appeals (State of Tennessee v. NV Sumatra Tobacco Trading Company, No. M2010-01955-SC-R11-CV, Tenn. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-2%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%204%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW ORLEANS - Prominent tobacco and asbestos litigator Richard "Dickie" Scruggs' guilty plea to bribing a judge who presided over a fee dispute has been affirmed by the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which said in an April 12 decision that he had demonstrated neither an absence of jurisdiction nor actual innocence (United States of America v. Richard F. Scruggs, also known as Dickie, No. 12-60423, 5th Cir.; 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 7410; See June 2010, Page 17). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-2%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%205%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will revise proposed graphic cigarette warning labels rather than appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court a case in which the labels were found to infringe on tobacco companies' constitutional rights, the Department of Justice announced in a March 15 letter to Speaker of the House John Boehner (R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, et al. v. United States Food and Drug Administration, et al., No. 11-5332, D.C. Cir.; See December 2012, Page 9). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-2%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%206%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' RICHMOND, Va. - State law exempting certain tobacco-related businesses from a general smoking ban under the Virginia Indoor Clean Air Act (VICAA ) does not apply to a restaurant and hookah bar, a divided Virginia Court of Appeals ruled April 9 (Kepa Inc., d/b/a She-Sha Cafe and Hookah Lounge v. Virginia Department of Health, No. 1164-12-3; 2013 Va. App. LEXIS 113). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-2%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%207%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SPOKANE, Wash. - Because the bulk of the tobacco a Native American tribe sells is not grown on reservation lands, it must pay into an escrow account required by the national Master Settlement Agreement (MSA), a Washington federal judge said in an April 5 opinion (King Mountain Tobacco Company Inc., et al. v. Robert McKenna, Attorney General of the State of Washington, No. 2:11-cv-3018, E.D. Wash.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49740). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-2%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%208%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' FRESNO, Calif. - A prisoner claiming confiscation of tobacco and other items by California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials infringed his religious rights under the First Amendment and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA) was denied injunctive relief by a federal magistrate judge in California, who said in a March 25 report and recommendation that because the prisoner had been moved, his claims were moot (Tracy Taylor v. Susan Hubbard, et al., No. 1:10-cv-00404-LJO-BAM PC, E.D. Calif.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 41990). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-2%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%209%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - A Native American inmate at California's San Quentin State Prison (SQSP) who says his religious rights were violated by confiscation of ceremonial tobacco failed to exhaust all available administrative remedies as required by 42 U.S.C. Section 1997e(a), a California federal judge said March 25 in dismissing the claims without prejudice (Daniel Trevino v. M. Martel, et al., No. C 11-5622 CRB (PR), N.D. Calif.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42744). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-2%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%2010%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' DANVILLE, Va. - A federal magistrate judge in Virginia has denied one tobacco company's attempt to collect more than $78,000 in attorney fees as a sanction from a bankrupt tobacco company for production failures, saying March 26 that the defendant's behavior did not warrant sanctions and that the plaintiff had failed to execute a writ of execution (Virginia Brands LLC v. Kingston Tobacco Company Inc., No.: 4:10-cv-9, W.D. Va., Danville Div.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42417). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-1%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%201%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Florida Supreme Court on March 14 affirmed, with one dissent, a trial court's application of its landmark decision in Engle v. Liggett Group, Inc. (945 So. 2d 1246 $(Fla. 2006$); See October 2007, Page 4) in a $2.5 million verdict, in the process rejecting tobacco companies' claim that the res judicata effects of Engle are a due process violation (Phillip Morris USA v. James L. Douglas, No. SC12-617, Fla. Sup.; 2013 Fla. LEXIS 440; See February 2013, Page 4). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-1%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%202%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Certification of a case for appeal means the trial court's decision barring punitive damages in that case is not binding on consolidated federal plaintiffs asserting injury and death from smoking under Engle v. Liggett Group, Inc. (945 So. 2d 1246 $(Fla. 2006$); See October 2007, Page 4), plaintiffs say in a Feb. 18 brief filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida (In re: Engle Cases, No. 3:09-cv-10000-J-32JBT, M.D. Fla., Jacksonville Div.; See January 2013, Page 7). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-1%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%203%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A proposed tobacco industry questionnaire geared toward statute of limitations dismissals will not accomplish its stated goal of streamlining the litigation, consolidated federal plaintiffs asserting injury and death from smoking under Engle v. Liggett Group, Inc. (945 So. 2d 1246 $(Fla. 2006$); See Oct. 2007, Page 4) argue in a Feb. 25 brief filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida (In re: Engle Cases, No. 3:09-cv-10000-J-32JBT, M.D. Fla., Jacksonville Div.; See January 2013, Page 7, and story in this issue). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-1%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%204%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' INDIANAPOLIS - An ordinance to protect the public from secondhand smoke (SHS) that bans smoking in bars and taverns but not in betting parlors and private clubs survived a constitutional challenge March 6 in an Indiana federal court (Wanda Goodpaster, et al., Plaintiffs, vs. City of Indianapolis, et al., No. 1:12-cv-669, S.D. Indiana, Indianapolis Div.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 30257). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-1%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%205%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' INDIANAPOLIS - Claims by a pro se Indianapolis man that the city's 2012 anti-smoking ordinance is "humiliating" to smokers and violates their constitutional rights were thrown out March 13 in an Indiana federal court (Bobby Ray Long v. Greg Ballard, Mayor of Indianapolis, et al., No. 12-cv-00569-JMS-DML, S.D. Ind.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34499). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-1%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%206%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' MILWAUKEE - A pro se prisoner's constitutional rights were not violated by secondhand smoke from prison staff, according to a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, who said March 8 that the prisoner could have avoided the smoke by closing the window in his cell (Jonathan David Wilke v. Charles Cole, et al., No. 11-CV-1069, E.D. Wis.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32188). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-1%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%207%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - Restricting the sale of flavored tobacco products to certain retail outlets in New York in an effort to prevent minors from buying them is not tantamount to regulating how those products are manufactured, the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said in a Feb. 26 opinion, affirming a lower court ruling that such regulations are not preempted (U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Manufacturing Company LLC, et al v. City of New York, No. 11-5167, 2nd Cir.; 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 3973). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-1%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%208%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - A smoker who sued several companies in California federal court over the development of lung cancer says in a Feb. 27 brief that public relations company Hill & Knowlton Inc. (H&K) seeks to evade liability for its key role in misinforming the public since the 1950s about the risks of smoking (Nikki Pooshs v. Philip Morris USA, Inc., et al., No. 3:04cv01221, N.D. Calif.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-1%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%209%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' HARRISBURG, Pa. - A Pennsylvania state court judge on March 4 permanently enjoined the governor from enforcing two state laws that took away tobacco settlement money from a low-income health insurance program and ordered them to fund that or a similar program starting this fiscal year (Sheryl Sears, et al. v. Hon. Tom Corbett, et al., No. 157 MD 2011, Pa. Cmwlth.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-1%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%2010%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' RICHMOND, Va. - Cigarette manufacturers participating in the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) have reached an agreement with 17 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico over longstanding disputes related to the amounts nonparticipating manufacturers (NPMs) are required to pay into the settlement fund, Philip Morris USA (PM USA) announced March 12 in a Form 8K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-1%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%2011%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' BECKLEY, W. Va. - A West Virginia federal prison inmate who says his religious rights as a "New Age Druid" are infringed by his inability to obtain tobacco was denied a preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order Feb. 19 by a federal judge who said the prisoner demonstrated neither irreparable harm nor a likelihood he will prevail on the merits (Carrol Owens v. FCI Beckley, No. 5:12-cv-03620, S.D. W. Va., Beckley Div.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22223) http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=27-1%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Tobacco%2012%20(2013)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' LONDON - Cigarette companies are using color designations to circumvent bans on marketing cigarettes as "light" or "low tar," according to a study led by the Harvard School of Public Health and released March 13 in the peer-reviewed BMJ journal "Tobacco Control."