Jump to full article: New York Sun, 2007-06-16
Author: JIM COPLAND
Intro: On Monday, the United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled against Philip Morris in a case involving a class action lawsuit filed against the company in Arkansas.
The Court's decision was narrow, procedural, and certainly correct, but the underlying cause of action is reason for serious concern, as it represents the plaintiffs' bar's newest form of lawsuit abuse. . . .
In essence, the suit, like others of its ilk, alleges that tobacco companies' marketing of "light" cigarettes is an unfair and deceptive business practice under Arkansas state law.
Tobacco companies marketing "light" cigarettes have done so under a specific 1966 federal law in which Congress set standards for measuring and reporting tar and nicotine. Every labeling decision and every product test has fallen within these federal guidelines.
It should hardly come as a surprise, then, that tobacco companies are peeved about being subjected to potentially huge litigation exposure by state courts that disagree with the Congressional rule. . . .
Last fall, a Brooklyn judge, Jack Weinstein, certified a similar federal class action — now on appeal at the Second Circuit — involving 50 million plaintiffs.
Those who hate the tobacco companies should not assume that state consumer protection acts only will be abused against the manufacturers of cigarettes. Unless legislators reform sloppy consumer protection laws, any company that markets its products could be subjected to similar suits.
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