Tobacco.org

• ‘Light’ cigarette ruling will reignite Minnesota tobacco litigation  

A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling breathed new life into at least three local cases against Big Tobacco that had been in danger of being snuffed out.

In a 5-4 ruling early last week, the nation’s highest court found that smokers are not barred by federal law from suing cigarette makers for deceiving them about the health risks from “light” cigarettes.

While Minnesota entered into a $6 billion settlement with cigarette manufacturers in 1998, the agreement only blocks state suits, not private litigation. The issue locally was whether federal cigarette labeling and advertising law pre-empted a fraud action brought under Minnesota law. A year ago, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled in Dahl, et al. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., et al. that federal law did not shield tobacco companies from state-law fraud and misrepresentation claims over how they advertised “light” cigarettes. R.J. Reynolds sought review from the Minnesota Supreme Court, which stayed the case pending the U.S. Supreme Court’s resolution of the case decided last week.

The U.S. high court decision paves the way for the R.J. Reynolds case – and two other similar cases in Minnesota trial courts – to proceed to trial, according to Kay Nord Hunt, one of the attorneys representing the R.J. Reynolds plaintiffs on appeal.

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