Tobacco.org

• Tobacco Companies Win Smuggling Appeal 

Tobacco manufacturers have won an appeal challenging lawsuits by the governments of Belize, Ecuador and Honduras that claim the companies conspired to smuggle cigarettes into their countries to boost profits and evade taxes.

The racketeering suits against Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds, Brown & Williamson, Lorillard and Liggett boil down to attempts to enforce foreign tax claims in U.S. courts, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided, upholding an earlier ruling by a Miami federal judge throwing out the lawsuit.

The court ruled that the strategy violates 18th century English common law and cannot be pursued. The ruling Friday did not address whether the companies smuggled cigarettes.

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