Jump to full article: St. Louis (MO) Post-Dispatch, 2008-12-25
Author: Nicholas J.C. Pistor ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Intro: Stephen Tillery was the first lawyer to beat the tobacco industry in court over its marketing of light cigarettes -- but he never got the ultimate prize.
In 2005, the Illinois Supreme Court reversed a $10.1 billion verdict he won in Madison County Circuit Court in a class action case against cigarette maker Philip Morris.
But now, guided by an unrelated U.S. Supreme Court opinion last week, Tillery says he's preparing to revive the case and will try to collect.
A law professor predicts he will be thwarted by a small but key difference in the cases.
. . .
Beckett said the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision involved the state of Maine's deceptive practice statute and whether it was preempted by a federal statute or FTC rulings.
Illinois is different, Beckett said, because its deceptive practices law has an exemption for companies that follow federal standards. "The Maine statute had no 'exemption' provision like the Illinois statute," Beckett said. Tillery's litigation may still have had an impact. Today, a pack of Philip Morris' Marlboro Lights is no longer emblazoned with the label "Lowered Tar & Nicotine."
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