New Jersey Lawyer News
Next Wave of Tobacco Litigation? “Light” Cigarettes Marketing Fraud
By: David H. Sternlieb, Esquire
In a potentially huge victory for consumers, on Monday, December 15, 2008, the United States Supreme Court ruled that tobacco companies that marketed so-called “light” cigarettes may be sued for fraud in state court actions. The Supreme Court ruled, by a 5-4 majority, in Altria Group v. Good, that three smokers from Maine may continue their lawsuit against the Altria Group, the parent company of Phillip Morris USA, a large cigarette maker. Unlike prior tobacco lawsuits brought by smokers which sought damages for pain and suffering, wrongful death, and other more traditional relief, the Good case seeks economic damages only. More specifically, the Maine smokers contend that the defendant’s “light” cigarette was marketed in a deceptive way to make smokers believe there were health benefits to smoking the “light” cigarette when compared to more traditional cigarettes because the “light” cigarettes were supposedly safer and posed fewer health risks than regular cigarettes. The measure of economic damages claimed in Good is the difference between what smokers paid for the “light” cigarettes less the actual value of the cigarettes since the smokers and their lawyers are claiming the alleged health benefits are deceptive and outright fraudulent. The Supreme Court’s landmark ruling will allow the Maine lawsuit to proceed. The ruling marks an important phase to the case in that it will be allowed to proceed under the plaintiff’s novel theory, but by no means signifies that one side or the other has prevailed yet. There is still a long way to go with other important legal issues to be resolved during the next phases of the case. The legal community will be keeping a close eye on developments occurring in the Maine lawsuit as the pretrial discovery, legal rulings, and result of the Good case may have important implications for similar lawsuits around the country seeking relief for the alleged fraudulent marketing of products touted by their makers to be safer than they are in reality.
The Good case is an excellent example of skilled, experienced trial lawyers, through a combination of creative application of legal principles and tenacity, serving the interests of their clients and the common good of society.
The trial lawyers at Shapiro & Sternlieb, LLC and their dedicated staff congratulate our successful colleagues in the Good case, and, will continue to live up to our goal of relentlessly bringing justice to our clients, one case at a time. If you or a loved one has suffered a serious injury or other serious harm caused by another’s conduct or negligence, our trial lawyers would be happy to offer you a free consultation. For a sample of our successful results, we invite you to visit us at http://www.shapirosternlieb.com/verdicts-settlements.html, or, to contact us for a free consultation, please visit http://www.shapirosternlieb.com/inquiry.html. The above article and links are provided for informational purposes only and are not intended to promise, guarantee or imply similar results for similar cases. Only an experienced attorney, knowing the specific facts and circumstances of a particular case may provide appropriate advice to a client or potential client.