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Mealey's Tobacco

  • February 27, 2026

    Judge Gives Reasons For Juul Antitrust Class Ruling, Allows Reconsideration

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on Feb. 26 issued a ruling providing the reasoning behind a previously issued short-form order certifying several classes of purchasers bringing antitrust claims against Juul Labs Inc. (JLI) and Altria Group Inc. for allegedly seeking to monopolize the e-cigarette market, and also granted a defense motion for reconsideration as to time limits on the class.

  • February 26, 2026

    $1.2M Judgment Entered In Favor Of Smoker’s Widow For Cancer Death

    NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — A Florida state court judge entered judgment in the amount of $1,225,000 with interest accruing, reflecting a jury verdict of $500,000 in compensatory damages and $725,000 in punitive damages against a tobacco company for causing the nicotine addiction and death from lung cancer of a Camel-cigarette smoker.

  • February 25, 2026

    Widower Says $225K For 14 Years Of Smoker’s COPD Was ‘Inadequate’

    FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A smoker’s widower filed a motion in Florida state court for additur or a new trial on damages against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. (RJR) after a jury returned a $675,000 verdict including $225,000 for the smoker’s pain and suffering, writing that the verdict is “inadequate as a matter of law” in view of evidence that the smoker suffered physically and mentally for 14 years after being diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including after an organ transplant.

  • February 25, 2026

    Tobacco Companies Remove Widower’s Wrongful Death Suit For Wife’s Death

    CHICAGO — Philip Morris USA Inc. (PM) and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. (RJR) removed to Illinois federal court a wrongful death lawsuit brought against them by the husband of a woman who smoked cigarettes for 60 years before dying allegedly from smoking-related diseases, arguing that complete diversity jurisdiction exists and that the amount in controversy is greater than $75,000.

  • February 17, 2026

    Judge Dismisses ‘King Of Vape’ Owner’s Defamation Suit Over Newspaper Article

    FORT MYERS, Fla. — A Florida federal judge granted a motion by the company that owns the New York Post and its journalist to dismiss a defamation lawsuit against them filed by the owner of a chain of e-cigarette stores in Florida, finding the plaintiff failed to allege any actual malice or damages but also finding that certain claims in the article about his ownership of an e-cigarette distributor and his alleged anti-Israel activities were false and could be the basis for a defamation claim.

  • February 12, 2026

    5th Circuit Refuses To Enjoin Mississippi Vape Directory

    NEW ORLEANS — A Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Feb. 11 denied a motion for an injunction of a new Mississippi vape directory law that will allegedly ban the sale of e-cigarettes containing synthetic nicotine pending an appeal by industry associations, a distributor and retailers of the dismissal of their lawsuit challenging the law, writing that the appellants lack standing because they allege a “generalized grievance” rather than a “constitutional injury.”

  • February 12, 2026

    Federal Judge Remands Rolling Paper Trademark Case To California State Court

    LOS ANGELES — A California judge remanded a tobacco company’s trademark complaint against entities it said sold counterfeit products to California state court, agreeing with the plaintiff entity that its claims did not sound in federal trademark law, only state and common law.

  • February 09, 2026

    R.J. Reynolds Won Unfair Windfall In Brand Sale Dispute, Philip Morris Says

    WILMINGTON, Del. — Philip Morris USA Inc. (PM) filed a complaint in the Delaware Chancery Court alleging that an award in favor of Reynolds American Inc. and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. (collectively RJR) worth more than $276 million for a dispute over liabilities incurred to the state of Florida based on cigarette sales effectively provided RJR with a more than $100 million unfair windfall that PM claims it should have received.

  • February 09, 2026

    Washington Vape Sellers Fail To Enjoin New State Nicotine Tax

    OLYMPIA, Wash. — A Washington state court judge denied a vape shop owner’s motion for a preliminary injunction challenging a new state law that applies a new tax to nicotine-containing tobacco products.

  • February 06, 2026

    Judge Certifies Classes In Juul Antitrust Suit, Denies Opposing Daubert Motions

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on Feb. 5 entered a short form order announcing his rulings certifying several classes of purchasers bringing antitrust claims against Juul Labs Inc. (JLI) and Altria Group Inc. for allegedly seeking to monopolize the e-cigarette market and increasing prices after Altria in 2018 invested in JLI and denied the opposing parties’ Daubert motions to exclude each other’s experts.

  • February 06, 2026

    Judge Refuses To Reconsider Dismissal Of Antitrust Pricing Suit Against Juul

    CHICAGO — An Illinois federal judge denied a company’s motion to reconsider the dismissal of its suit against Juul Labs Inc. (JLI) and one of its wholesalers for antitrust law violations based on claims that the defendants allegedly undercut the company’s sales of kits containing JLI products and ethanol fuel by offering cheaper prices to competitors, writing that it failed to properly allege the “relevant geographic market” and cannot amend its claims a fourth time.

  • February 05, 2026

    Judge Orders ‘Puff Bar’ Vape Sellers To Pay $129K In Deceptive Marketing Suit

    NEW YORK — A New York federal judge on Feb. 4, who previously refused to certify a consumer class action against two companies that sell “Puff Bar”-brand synthetic nicotine vapes, ordered the companies to pay more than $96,000 in statutory damages and roughly $32,000 in attorney fees for deceptively marketing their products to the plaintiff in violation of New York and New Jersey consumer protection laws.

  • February 05, 2026

    Florida Supreme Court Won’t Review Smoker’s Estate’s ‘Random Jury Box’ Appeal

    TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Supreme Court denied a petition for review of an appellate court’s affirmance of a defense verdict against a tobacco company.  The estate of a smoker who died from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) had sought review on the grounds that the trial court utilized the “random jury box method” for voir dire.

  • February 04, 2026

    Dismissing ERISA Tobacco Surcharge Case, Judge Gives Employer Outlier Win

    ST. LOUIS — Giving an employer an outlier victory in a putative class action that is similar to many other recent Employee Retirement Income Security Act challenges to tobacco surcharges, a Missouri federal judge on Feb. 3 dismissed the complaint with prejudice and said the statute at issue “does not impose a retroactive reimbursement requirement for tobacco cessation surcharges."

  • February 04, 2026

    Florida Jury Returns Defense Verdict In Sickly Smoker’s Defect Design Lawsuit

    MIAMI — A Florida state court jury returned a defense verdict in a lawsuit against Philip Morris USA Inc. (PM) brought by a former smoker of Parliament and Marlboro-brand cigarettes who says he suffers from heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), writing that PM’s cigarettes were defectively designed but also finding that they did not legally cause the smoker’s health issues.

  • February 03, 2026

    Judge Enjoins $21K Fine Against Texas Vape Shop, Citing Constitutional Issues

    ABILENE, Texas — A Texas federal judge on Feb. 2 denied the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s motion for summary judgment and entered judgment on the merits in favor of a Texas vape shop that sued to enjoin FDA proceedings against it to enforce a more than $21,000 fine for selling an unauthorized vape product, writing that the proceedings unconstitutionally restricted the shop’s right to a jury trial (The Vaping Dragon, LLC v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, et al., No. 25-81, N.D. Texas, Abilene Div., 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20806).

  • January 30, 2026

    Government Says Vacatur Of Tobacco Graphic Warnings Rule Was Improper

    MIAMI — The Food and Drug Administration and related parties filed an appellant brief in the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals challenging a federal judge’s vacatur of the FDA’s final rule requiring graphic warnings on all tobacco products pursuant to the Tobacco Control Act (TCA), writing that the ruling was improperly based on its failure to disclose raw data underlying studies regarding the efficacy of graphic warnings.

  • January 22, 2026

    2 More Judges Decline To Dismiss ERISA Tobacco Surcharge Lawsuits

    Two more federal judges have ruled that some or all claims survive dismissal in putative class actions challenging surcharges that health plan administrators require tobacco or nicotine users to pay, and a motion to compel arbitration has been granted in another similar case.

  • January 22, 2026

    Oklahoma Law Changing Tobacco Settlement Board Declared Unconstitutional

    OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Supreme Court voted 8-1 to declare that a 2025 law that would provide the means for removal of members from a board tasked with distributing funds paid by tobacco companies under the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) violates the state constitution as the board’s appointment structure was itself set forth in an amendment to that constitution.

  • January 21, 2026

    Hawaii Judge Denies New Trial For Smoker’s Estate After $0 Judgment

    KONA, Hawaii — A Hawaii state judge issued a ruling denying a smoker’s estate’s motion to vacate a jury’s general damages award and for a new trial on damages, finding the jury’s $0 general damages verdict was “consistent” with the evidence presented at trial regarding the smoker’s pain and suffering from various illnesses including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

  • January 14, 2026

    2 PFAS Makers Remove Case, Claim Immunity In Wrongful Death Lawsuit

    EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — Two makers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on Jan. 13 removed to Illinois federal court a lawsuit brought by a woman who asserts claims for wrongful death and other injuries in connection with her husband’s cancer that she says was caused by his exposure to PFAS and other chemicals during his time working at an oil refinery.  In their notice for removal, the manufacturers argue that they are immune from tort liability.

  • January 12, 2026

    High Court Denies Cigar Maker’s Petition For Review Of Voluntary Dismissal Issue

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 12 denied a cigar maker’s petition for a writ of certiorari challenging the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ latest ruling on a long-running dispute between it and rival tobacco companies over antitrust and breach of contract claims, in which the petitioner argued that the Ninth Circuit “deepened” a circuit split by hearing an appeal in which the respondents allegedly “manufactured finality.”

  • January 12, 2026

    Health Groups Urge FDA To Uphold Flavored Vape Bans

    NEW ORLEANS — Several health and anti-vaping groups on Jan. 9 filed an amicus curiae brief in the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals supporting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and urging the Circuit Court to uphold its bans of flavored e-cigarettes and e-liquid products, including “zero-nicotine” products, because they say the FDA properly found that the products could lead to an increase in youth vaping and its decision-making authority is supported by high court precedent.

  • January 12, 2026

    Arizona Tobacco And Vape Shops Agree To Pay $460,000 For Underage Sales

    PHOENIX — Three companies and their owner agreed to pay $460,000 in restitution, civil penalties and attorney fees to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office as part of a consent judgment entered in Arizona state court resolving claims brought by the attorney general for illegal sales of tobacco and nicotine products to minors.

  • January 08, 2026

    Juul Reaches ‘Agreement’ With NJOY Over Disputed Docs In Vape Patent Case

    PHOENIX — An Arizona federal judge on Jan. 7 ordered Juul Labs Inc. (JLI), NJOY LLC, Altria Group Inc. and affiliates to file a joint statement under seal “that describes the resolution” of a discovery dispute in a patent lawsuit after JLI said the parties reached “an agreement” relating to allegedly privileged documents JLI “inadvertently” uploaded to a public database, which NJOY described as “evidence of the fraud [JLI] committed to obtain its patents from the Patent Office.”