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Massachusetts Court Reverses 'Lights' Ruling; Philip Morris USA 

Today, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court reinstated a "lights" class action, ruling that Massachusetts' Consumer Protection laws require the trial court to allow the case to proceed as a class action but noting that the class certification "may be revisited" at a later time. The ruling is limited to Massachusetts.

The decision came in the Aspinall case, which was initially certified as a class action by a Massachusetts trial court on October 11, 2001 but decertified by a judge of the state's intermediate appellate court. In Aspinall, plaintiffs seek only to recover for economic loss, and not personal injuries.

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