Mealey's Tobacco
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August 07, 2023
United States Denies Altria’s Claim For $106M In Allegedly Overpaid Taxes
RICHMOND, Va. — The United States filed its answer and affirmative defenses in Virginia federal court where tobacco company Altria Group Inc. is suing it for roughly $106 million in overpaid income taxes that Altria says the U.S. Internal Revenue Service “erroneously collected” based on taxation of Altria’s foreign holdings, asserting that the court lacks jurisdiction over the claims and that its review of Altria’s taxes is ongoing.
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August 07, 2023
Anti-SLAPP Law Doesn’t Apply To New Tobacco Products Suit, Plaintiffs Claim
FRESNO, Calif. — R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. (RJR) and retailers filed a brief in California state court opposing the state attorney general and Fresno County district attorney’s motion to strike their lawsuit challenging the state’s identification of new RJR products with crushable filter capsules as “presumptively flavored,” saying their claims don’t relate to protected speech.
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August 07, 2023
Flavored Vape Company Says FDA Wrongly Refused To Accept Premarket Application
ATLANTA — A flavored e-cigarette company filed suit in Georgia federal court against the Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and their respective leaders, contending that the FDA improperly refused to accept its premarket tobacco application (PMTA) for allegedly failing to include specifications about the product that the company asserts was in fact contained in the PMTA.
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August 04, 2023
E-Cig Businesses Among Amici Weighing In On Chevron Deference Before High Court
WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares in a pending case filed against government officials and agencies by vessel owners to weigh the doctrine of Chevron deference, dozens of legal, industrial, political and advocacy groups have filed amicus briefs, including e-cigarette companies that say the doctrine allowed the Food and Drug Administration to apply an “extreme” interpretation of its powers in banning thousands of e-cigarette products.
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August 04, 2023
Vape Company Tells High Court FDA Cut Corners To Ban Flavored Vapes
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A group of affiliated flavored vape companies in an Aug. 3 reply brief urge the U.S. Supreme Court to grant their petition for a writ of certiorari seeking review of a Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling upholding the Food and Drug Administration’s ban of their products, writing that the decision “was wrong” and that the FDA showed “hubris” when it ignored the requirements of administrative review.
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August 04, 2023
NYC Sues Vape Companies Alleging Illegal Sales Of Flavored, Disposable Vapes
WASHINGTON, D.C. — New York City on Aug. 3 filed an amended complaint accusing sellers of e-cigarette devices of illegally netting millions in profit while selling flavored vape devices in the city, seeking millions in damages and penalties from sellers the city says are liable for violating a statewide ban on flavored vapes, public nuisance, mail and wire fraud and racketeering.
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August 02, 2023
Flavored Pod Maker Says 2nd Circuit Wrongly Affirmed FDA Ban
NEW YORK — A flavored e-cigarette pod manufacturer on Aug. 2 filed a petition for panel or en banc rehearing to the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, arguing that a panel erred in affirming the Food and Drug Administration’s marketing denial order (MDO) that banned sales of the manufacturer’s products, writing that the panel’s ruling “overlooks and misapprehends material points of fact and law” and conflicts with Second Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court precedent.
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July 28, 2023
Florida Supreme Court Won’t Review Dismissal Of Smoker’s Kids’ Claims
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Supreme Court declined to accept jurisdiction over a petition filed by the children of a dead smoker seeking review of a split appellate panel’s ruling affirming the dismissal of their claims for noneconomic damages as a nonfinal, nonappealable ruling.
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July 27, 2023
Chevron Deference Led To ‘Extreme’ E-Cig Regulation, Businesses Tell High Court
WASHINGTON, D.C. — E-cigarette companies and industry groups filed an amicus curiae brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court in a pending case to “clarify” the doctrine of Chevron deference, writing that as currently applied by courts the doctrine allowed the Food and Drug Administration to ban thousands of e-cigarette products based on an “extreme” application of the Tobacco Control Act (TCA).
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July 26, 2023
Texas Panel Finds Jurisdiction Over Korean Battery Maker In Exploding Vape Case
HOUSTON — A Texas appellate panel on July 25 affirmed a trial court’s jurisdiction over a South Korean battery maker and its U.S. subsidiary in a personal injury lawsuit brought by a man who claims that he was burned after the battery exploded in his e-cigarette device, citing recent Texas Supreme Court precedent.
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July 19, 2023
‘HeatSticks’ Bound By Same RICO Suit Remedies As Cigarettes, Judge Rules
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A District of Columbia federal judge granted a motion filed by the United States and public health groups to clarify that a 2006 remedial order imposing a corrective statements requirement on cigarette manufacturers also applies to a new Philip Morris USA Inc. (PM) product known as “HeatSticks,” while also granting PM’s motion to modify the remedial order so that it may market the product with Food and Drug Administration-approved “reduced-exposure” statements.
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July 18, 2023
FDA Says Its Ban Of Flavored Vape Products Not Worthy Of High Court Review
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Food and Drug Administration filed a brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to deny a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by flavored vape companies seeking review of a Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling upholding the FDA’s ban of their products, which the FDA says was not arbitrary or capricious and does not warrant high court review.
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July 14, 2023
Judge Remands Nonprofit Group’s False Advertising Suit Against Juul To State Court
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A District of Columbia federal court on July 13 granted a lung health nonprofit’s motion to remand its lawsuit accusing Juul Labs Inc. (JLI) of deceptively marketing the nicotine content in its e-cigarette products to state court, citing a lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
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July 10, 2023
9th Circuit Says FDA Rightly Banned Vape Companies’ E-Liquids
SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 7 affirmed the Food and Drug Administration’s marketing denial orders (MDOs) issued to two e-liquid companies, finding that the FDA properly informed the companies of its standards before banning sales of their nicotine-containing products for use with vape products.
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July 10, 2023
Georgia Panel Reinstates $10.1M Default Judgment In Exploding Vape Case
ATLANTA — A Georgia appellate court vacated a ruling setting aside a $10.1 million default judgment against an electronics company that had failed to respond to a lawsuit accusing it of manufacturing and selling a battery that burned an e-cigarette user when his vape exploded in his pocket, finding that the trial court judge improperly shifted the burden of proof to the plaintiff in evaluating the company’s motion to set aside.
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July 10, 2023
Jury Awards Dead Smoker’s Daughter $132,000 For Lung Cancer Death After Engle Trial
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A Florida jury awarded a dead smoker’s daughter $132,000 in compensatory damages against a tobacco company for causing the smoker’s addiction to cigarettes, which led to her death from lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). VIDEO FROM THE TRIAL IS AVAILABLE.
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July 07, 2023
Right Of Way Smoking Ban Row With Oil Company Sent Back To Tribal Court
ST. LOUIS — An Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled that a federal judge erred by enjoining Indian landowners, a tribal judge and tribal court from prosecuting claims against an energy company for violating a ban on smoking on a right of way granted to the company that ran through the landowners’ property, ruling that the energy company must first exhaust its remedies before the tribe’s appellate court.
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July 06, 2023
Massachusetts High Court Rejects Smokers’ Wrongful Death Suits As Untimely
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court today affirmed the dismissal of two wrongful death actions brought by the estates of deceased smokers against tobacco companies as time-barred, writing that because wrongful death suits are “derivative” actions, the statute of limitations begins to accrue based on the date of injury, not the smoker’s death.
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July 05, 2023
FTC Drops Case Against Altria, Juul After Companies Part Ways
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Trade Commission on July 3 dismissed its administrative complaint alleging antitrust claims against tobacco company Altria Group Inc. and e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc. (JLI), writing that “the case no longer serves the public interest” after Altria voluntarily unwound its investment in JLI, but also saying an administrative law judge (ALJ) erred in recommending dismissal of the complaint.
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June 27, 2023
Juul MDL Plaintiffs Seek Approval Of $255M Settlement, $76M In Attorney Fees
SAN FRANCISCO — The lead plaintiffs’ counsel in the multidistrict litigation against e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc. (JLI), its board members and executives moved in California federal court for final approval of a $255 million class settlement with the JLI defendants on behalf of a class bringing economic loss claims, and separately moved for approval of $76 million in attorney fees.
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June 21, 2023
Tobacco Companies Must Post Discovery From Juul MDL Online, Judge Says
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A District of Columbia federal judge granted a motion filed by public health groups and ruled that a 2006 order requiring Altria Group Inc. and Philip Morris USA Inc. (PM) to post evidence of their past deceptive marketing online also applies to discovery obtained from the companies during the recent multidistrict litigation against e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc. (JLI).
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June 20, 2023
2nd Circuit Affirms FDA Ban Of Vape Company’s Flavored Pods
NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the Food and Drug Administration’s issuance of a marketing denial order (MDO) banning sales of a vape company’s flavored pods for use in e-cigarette products, finding that the FDA’s order was “well within its statutory authority” and that the vape company failed to establish any violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).
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June 20, 2023
Jury Finds Dead Smoker Failed To Prove Addiction In Engle Trial
TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida jury returned a defense verdict in an Engle trial on claims brought by the three adult children of a smoker who died at 46 from lung cancer, rejecting the children’s claim that their mother was deceived into smoking filtered cigarettes. VIDEO FROM THE TRIAL IS AVAILABLE.
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June 16, 2023
N.C. Supreme Court Reverses Dismissal Of Exploding Vape Case Against Battery Maker
RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina Supreme Court on June 16 reversed a split appellate panel’s ruling affirming the dismissal for lack of jurisdiction of a man’s personal injury lawsuit against a South Korean battery maker and its U.S. subsidiary for burns he suffered after an e-cigarette device exploded in his pocket, ordering the trial court to reconsider its jurisdictional rulings in light of new U.S. Supreme Court precedent.
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June 15, 2023
Florida Supreme Court: Despite $16M Loss, Smoker’s Sister May Seek Attorney Fees
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Supreme Court on June 15 provisionally granted a dead smoker’s sister’s motion for attorney fees from a tobacco company, despite its prior affirmance of the reversal of a $16 million damages award in her favor, finding that Florida’s proposal for settlement (PFS) statute is not limited to prevailing parties and that an affirmed compensatory damages judgment in her favor triggers the statute.