Litigation

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Illinois High Court Won't Block Reopening Of $10.1 Billion Light Cigarette Case
Posted on 29 Sep 2011 by Michael Lefkowitz

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - (Mealey's) The Illinois Supreme Court on Sept. 28 declined to hear Philip Morris Inc.'s appeal of an intermediate appeals court ruling that reopens a case that resulted in a $10.1 billion verdict against the tobacco giant for... Read More

Tags: punitive damages , Sharon Price , Philip Morris , Michael Fruth , class action , deceptive advertising , smoking , Litigation , compensatory , lawsuit , light cigarettes , Illinois Supreme Court , Federal Trade Commission , Sharon Price v. Philip Morris Incorporated , tar and nicotine , cigarette , tobacco

Florida Jury Awards Widow Of Smoker $25 Million In Punitive Damages
Posted on 7 Mar 2012 by Michael Lefkowitz

MIAMI - (Mealey's) A Florida jury on March 6 ordered cigarette maker Lorillard Inc. to pay the widow of a smoker $25 million in punitive damages, one week after the jury awarded her $16 million in compensatory damages ( Dorothy Alexander v. Lorillard... Read More

Tags: punitive damages , Lorillard , tobacco companies , compensatory damages , Florida , smoking , Coleman Alexander , Dorothy Alexander , Litigation , Engle v. Liggett Group , Dorothy Alexander v. Lorillard Tobacco Co. , cigarette , tobacco

Troutman Sanders LLP: Lawsuits Likely Following FDA's Release Of Mandated Graphic Warning Labels
Posted on 18 Jul 2011 by Troutman Sanders

In the wake of the FDA's release of new graphic cigarette health warnings that must cover the top fifty percent of both the front and rear panels of each cigarette package as of September 2012, the four leading tobacco companies are threatening legal... Read More

Tags: product liability , Litigation , Troutman Sanders , health warnings , cigarette , tobacco

Florida Jury Awards 2nd Post-Engle Smoker Verdict, $86,000
Posted on 17 Feb 2011 by Michael Lefkowitz

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- For the second time in a week, a Florida jury on Feb. 15 found for a post- Engle tobacco plaintiff but issued a relatively small award of compensatory damages ( Despinda Hatziyannakis, as Personal Representative of Christos Hatziyannakis... Read More

Tags: Engle , Damages , Christos Hatziyannakis , Philip Morris , Broward County , Florida Supeme Court , class action , smoker , Florida , smoking , cancer , jury , Litigation , compensatory , lawsuit , Engle v. Liggett Group , punitive , Despinda Hatziyannakis v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company , cigarette , tobacco

Florida Ruling Big Tobacco Won Is Coming Back To Bite It
Posted on 21 Feb 2011 by LexisNexis Litigation Resource Community Staff

MIAMI - (AP) A Florida Supreme Court ruling that threw out a $145 billion award against cigarette makers is biting Big Tobacco back, making it dramatically easier for thousands of smokers to sue and turning the state into the nation's hot spot for... Read More

Tags: Supreme Court , Engle , R.J. Reynolds , Damages , Garnick , Lorillard , Philip Morris , heart disease , Liggett , Food and Drug Administration , Altria , Northeastern University , class action , Florida Supreme Court , smoking , lung cancer , Litigation , lawsuit , Big Tobacco , Marlboro Light , cigarette , Tobacco Products Liability Project , tobacco

Marlboro Maker Altria Sues China-Based Websites
Posted on 16 Feb 2011 by LexisNexis Litigation Resource Community Staff

RICHMOND, Va. - (AP) Marlboro maker Altria Group Inc. said Wednesday it is suing seven Chinese online retailers, alleging they sold counterfeit versions of its top-selling cigarette brands to customers in the U.S. The owner of the nation's largest... Read More

Tags: Marlboro , Philip Morris , Websites , Altria , gray market , Chinese online retailers , Intellectual Property , Litigation , Lanham Act , lawsuit , Internet , Chinese Web site , counterfeit cigarettes , cigarette , tobacco

N.Y. Attorney General Sues Online Tobacco Sites
Posted on 6 Feb 2011 by LexisNexis Litigation Resource Community Staff

MINEOLA, N.Y. - (AP) Six website operators are violating a state law that bans the online sale of tobacco to customers in New York, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Thursday. Schneiderman said lawsuits were filed a day earlier in state Supreme... Read More

Tags: New York , Ohio , Schneiderman , Websites , Centers for Disease Control , American Lung Association , Vermont , Litigation , lawsuit , New York attorney general , Connecticut , Internet , Washington , cigarette , Maryland , tobacco

Australia Proposes Tough Cigarette Packaging Rules
Posted on 8 Apr 2011 by LexisNexis Litigation Resource Community Staff

SYDNEY - (AP) Tobacco companies in Australia will be forced to strip all logos from their cigarette packages and replace them with graphic images such as cancer-riddled mouths and sickly children under legislation unveiled Thursday a move the government... Read More

Tags: Advertising , Roxon , cigarette packaging , Marketing , smoking , Australia , Litigation , tobacco advertising , British American Tobacco , Cancer Council Australia , cigarette , tobacco

Illinois Appeals Court Revives Light Cigarette Lawsuit
Posted on 1 Mar 2011 by LexisNexis Litigation Resource Community Staff

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - (AP) A lawsuit that led to a $10.1 billion verdict against cigarette-making Philip Morris USA before it was tossed out by the Illinois Supreme Court has been revived by a lower court, sending the case back to the county once tagged... Read More

Tags: Illinois , Philip Morris , smoking , Litigation , lawsuit , light cigarettes , Madison County , Illinois Supreme Court , cigarette , tobacco

Scalia Gives Big Tobacco $270 Million Reprieve
Posted on 14 Sep 2010 by LexisNexis Litigation Resource Community Staff

WASHINGTON, D.C. - (AP) Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has temporarily blocked a state court order requiring tobacco companies to pay $270 million for a smoking cessation program in Louisiana. Full version available to lexis.com subscribers . Read More

Tags: Supreme Court , class action , Louisiana , Litigation , Antonin Scalia , smoking cessation program , lawsuit , cigarette , tobacco

New York City Sues Over Internet Sales Of Tax-Free Cigarettes
Posted on 22 Apr 2011 by LexisNexis Litigation Resource Community Staff

NEW YORK - (AP) New Yorkers hoping to avoid the nation's highest cigarette taxes have long turned to the Internet as a source for cheap smokes, but few bought as often, or as much, as Roza Budansky, according to city officials. Over a three-year period... Read More

Tags: New York City , Budansky , Chavez Inc. , smoking , Justice Department , Litigation , black market , Internet , cigarette , Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives , untaxed cigarettes , tobacco