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A Missouri smoker who sued Philip Morris USA Inc. for allegedly making false claims about the health effects of light cigarettes appropriately brought the matter as a class action, a state appeals court has found.
The suit filed in 2000 alleged that Missouri consumers did not receive "the qualities and economic value of low-tar, low-nicotine cigarettes."
The lawsuit said light cigarettes, when used normally, actually deliver higher levels of tar and nicotine than demonstrated in machine testing conditions.
Judge Michael David of the St. Louis Circuit Court certified a class of plaintiffs consisting of state "residents who had purchased [Philip Morris brand] lights in Missouri since 1971 but who do not have a claim for personal injury relating to smoking." . . .
Craft v. Philip Morris USA Inc., No. ED85142, 2005 WL 1944333 (Mo. Ct. App., E. Dist. Aug. 16, 2005). Tobacco Industry Litigation Reporter Volume 20, Issue 26 08/031/2005
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A Missouri appeals court upheld a lower-court decision granting class-action status to a suit that accuses Altria Group Inc.'s Philip Morris USA unit of misleading smokers about the health risks of light cigarettes.
The decision in the case, brought by Dayna Craft, was handed down late Tuesday by the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District. The appellate court backed an earlier decision to limit the class eligibility to Missouri residents who purchased and smoked Marlboro Lights cigarettes during an eight-year period.
Philip Morris said it plans to ask the Missouri Supreme Court to review the decision. The company has argued in the past that there are too many individual issues among smokers to lump them together.
A Missouri appellate court upheld a lower court decision to grant class-action status to a lawsuit filed against Altria Group Inc.'s (MO) Philip Morris USA unit by a group of light cigarette smokers.
The decision in the case, which was brought by Dayna Craft, was handed down late Tuesday by the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District.
The appellate court backed the earlier decision to limit the class eligibility to Missouri residents who purchased and smoked Marlboro Lights cigarettes during an eight-year period.
Philip Morris said it plans to ask the Missouri Supreme Court to review the latest decision in the case.
A Missouri appeals court has ruled that a lower court appropriately certified as a class-action case a lawsuit accusing Philip Morris USA of misleading smokers about the health risks of its so-called "light" cigarettes.
Tuesday's ruling by the Missouri Court of Appeals was cheered by attorneys who pressed a similar lawsuit in Illinois against the cigarette maker, which in that case was ordered to pay a $10.1 billion consumer-fraud judgment. Philip Morris - now part of Altria Group Inc. - has appealed that to the Illinois Supreme Court.
Tuesday's ruling upheld St. Louis Circuit Judge Michael David's decision last year to let the Missouri lawsuit's original plaintiffs represent potentially thousands of other smokers of light cigarettes. Both Missouri rulings essentially found a class-action format appropriate in dealing with claims that Philip Morris misled smokers into thinking light cigarettes were less harmful than regular ones, violating Missouri's Merchandising Practices Act. . . .
William Ohlemeyer, Philip Morris' vice president and associate general counsel, said in a written statement that the company will ask Missouri's Supreme Court to review Tuesday's ruling, saying that "for a variety of reasons, the company believes the law doesn't allow cases like this to be treated as a class action."
8-Mar-2005 11:00
DIVISION 2
Clayton
ST. LOUIS CITY CIRCUIT COURT 1. ED85142
So-called "lights" litigation against the tobacco industry doesn't appear to be going away anytime soon.
This week, Altria Group Inc.'s (MO) Philip Morris USA suffered setbacks in two lights cases, which seek refunds for smokers who claim the cigarette maker misrepresented the health risks of light cigarette brands such as Marlboro Lights.
On Wednesday, Ohio's 9th District Court of Appeals upheld the class certification in a case brought by Catherine Marrone. . . .
The Ohio decision followed on the heels of another ruling on Tuesday by Missouri Circuit Court Judge Michael David in St. Louis reaffirming the class certification on a case, which was brought by Dayna Craft. . . .
Those tracking developments in lights cigarette cases continue to watch the Price case in Illinois closely.