WASHINGTON — Tobacco companies that marketed “light” cigarettes may be sued for fraud, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday in a 5-to-4 decision that will bolster dozens of lawsuits claiming billions of dollars in damages.
The case was brought by three smokers from Maine as a proposed class action. They sued Altria and its Philip Morris USA unit, alleging fraud under Maine’s Unfair Trade Practices Act and saying they had been injured by what they called the false statements of the companies.
They sought compensation for economic rather than medical harm. They claimed, in other words, that they had overpaid for cigarettes based on deceptive advertisements suggesting that “light” cigarettes were safer than regular ones; they did not seek money for injuries caused by smoking itself.
It is undisputed that brands like Marlboro Lights, made by Philip Morris, register lower levels of tar and nicotine than ordinary cigarettes when smoked by machines under a standard method authorized by the Federal Trade Commission. But many smokers compensate by puffing harder, smoking more cigarettes or inhaling deeper.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/16/business/16bizcourt.html?th&emc=th
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
