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• Eight "Light" Cigarettes Lawsuits against Philip Morris USA, Altria Group, Inc. Consolidated, Transferred to U.S. District Court, District of Maine, According to Parker Waichman Alonso LLP 

On September 10, 2009, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) entered a Transfer Order consolidating eight "light" cigarettes lawsuits in a Multidistrict Litigation and transferring them to the U.S. District Court, District of Maine for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings (MDL No. 2068). The Light Cigarettes Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation will be presided over by the Honorable John A. Woodcock, Jr.

In the Transfer Order, the Panel noted that all eight lawsuits share factual issues as to whether Philip Morris and/or Altria engaged in deceptive marketing of their light cigarettes and/or manipulated the design of those cigarettes to deliver more tar and nicotine when smoked than when tested by the government. The Panel found that centralization in the District of Maine will serve the convenience of the parties and witnesses and promote the just and efficient conduct of the litigation. An initial conference will be scheduled in the near future.

One of the eight lawsuits included in the Light Cigarettes Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation was filed by Parker Waichman Alonso LLP on behalf of a man who suffered economic damages as a result of misrepresentations made about Marlboro Lights cigarettes marketed by Philip Morris USA.

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