Jump to full article: AP, 2008-02-21
Author: MARK SHERMAN and PETE YOST
Intro: The Supreme Court sided with business in two cases Wednesday that limit state lawsuits against medical device manufacturers and invalidate Maine's regulations of package delivery companies.
The court denied business groups a third victory, however, in ruling that retirement plan participants could sue to recover losses.
The two favorable outcomes for business relied on federal laws that the court said pre-empt state action.
Meir Feder, a New York appeals court specialist, says the decisions are part of a trend that generally has limited the ability of individuals to sue businesses.
"There is a lot of skepticism by the court about the benefit of allowing private civil lawsuits against companies and a lot of concern about the downsides of litigation — deterring investment and raising costs," Feder said. . . .
Maine's law requires delivery companies to intercept packages from unlicensed tobacco sellers and to verify the age of buyers. This requirement hits delivery companies with huge additional costs, the industry said.
Wednesday's ruling could enable the industry to argue that similar laws in other states are invalid. The decision could clear the way for companies to challenge an aggressive campaign by New York that led the industry's biggest players to stop shipping cigarettes directly to consumers from illegal Internet sellers.
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