Four lawsuits that were filed against tobacco companies were turned down in a bid for class-action certification following the decision of a federal judge who stated the claims had individual issues. Industry experts, meantime, expect a long road ahead if the individuals bring their own cases.
According to a Reuters report, all four cases brought in Nevada, were consolidated as part of the class-certification proceedings.
Three of the cases were filed on behalf of non-smoking casino workers who were subjected to secondhand smoke, while another, Selcer v R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., consisted of smokers. The court summarized that individual decisions would probably predominate in the extremely high volume of cases, therefore turning down the purpose of a class action in keeping judicial economy.
Other defendants include Philip Morris Cos. Inc., Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., a unit of British American Tobacco Plc., Lorillard Tobacco Co., a unit of Loews Corp., American Tobacco Co., and Liggett Group Inc., a unit of Vector Group Ltd.
Attorneys from both Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds noted that the verdict agreed with their feelings that class action lawsuits like this should be denied certification because members of the proposed classes possess individual issues.
Counting more than 100 tobacco cases that have been filed since 1994 searching for class-action status, only seven classes are now certified according to Philip Morris.
The industry’s track record in individual cases shows mostly positive results, even counting a number of losses in California. The most notable cases in recent times was the high-profile Boeken case, where a jury awarded a smoker in excess of $3 billion.
Philip Morris admits in the Boeken case that cigarettes did prove attractive, however warnings on cigarette packages were very clear in stating that the product caused cancer. The company agreed that the jury had not been presented proper instructions and was prevented from listening to key evidence.
Topics Lawsuits
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