Class Action suit hits Tobacco Companies
Companies / Corporate News Sep 25, 2006 - 08:00 PM GMTBy: Shahla_Walayat
In a big blow to Tobacco companies, a federal judge on Monday granted class action status to tens of millions of "light cigarette" smokers for a potential $200 billion lawsuit against cigarette makers.
U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein in Brooklyn made the ruling on a 2004 lawsuit that alleges Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, Lorillard Tobacco Co. and other defendants duped smokers, and responded to consumers' mounting health concerns with a campaign of deception designed to preserve revenue.
The class is anyone who purchased cigarettes that were labelled "light" or "lights" after they were put on the market, beginning in the early 1970s.
Defence lawyers argued that the lawsuit relied on flawed data and should not be certified as a class action. They also said that without surveying each smoker in the suit, it would be impossible to determine their motives for buying light cigarettes.
Comment
Big Tobacco has been hit by some 60 class actions and to date none of succeeded !
© 2005-2022 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.
