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Mealey's Tobacco

  • November 14, 2024

    FDA Tells High Court 5th Circuit Violated Venue Rule In Menthol Vape Case

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Food and Drug Administration in a Nov. 13 opening merits brief to the U.S. Supreme Court argues that a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel clearly violated the Tobacco Control Act (TCA) by finding jurisdiction over a challenge to an FDA ban of menthol-flavored e-cigarette products brought by R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. (RJRV) and affiliated entities, saying the ruling “invites unchecked forum shopping.”

  • November 11, 2024

    NYC Sues Long Island Distributors Over Illegal Flavored Vape Sales

    NEW YORK — New York City filed a lawsuit in New York federal court accusing a Long Island company and its owners and employees of violating federal, state and city laws by conducting online sales of flavored, disposable e-cigarette products, approximately 70% of which are resold in New York City without any payment of sales tax.

  • November 11, 2024

    After Reversal, Smoker’s Widow Wins No Punitive Damages At Engle Retrial

    WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Florida jury awarded no punitive damages to a dead smoker’s widow on her Engle claims against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. (RJR) after a retrial on punitive damages following the Fourth District Florida Court of Appeal’s reversal of an earlier $2 million punitive damages award in the widow’s favor. VIDEO FROM THE TRIAL IS AVAILABLE.

  • November 07, 2024

    FDA Tells High Court E-Cig Companies, Amici Fail To Justify Ban’s Reversal

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Food and Drug Administration on Nov. 6 filed its reply brief on the merits to the U.S. Supreme Court ahead of oral arguments next month, asserting that two flavored e-liquid makers and several amici curiae supporting them fail to properly defend an “aberrational” ruling by the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversing an FDA ban of e-cigarette products, which is in the minority of a circuit split on the issue.

  • November 06, 2024

    Amici Tobacco Companies Support FDA’s Delay Of Menthol Cigarette Ban

    OAKLAND, Calif. — Philip Morris USA Inc. (PM) and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. (RJR) filed amicus curiae briefs in California federal court in support of a motion by the Food and Drug Administration and affiliated agencies to dismiss a public health lawsuit demanding that the FDA enact a federal ban of menthol cigarettes, arguing that the plaintiffs lack standing and the FDA cannot be compelled to enact such a ban.

  • October 29, 2024

    ZYN User Denies Nicotine Pouch Youth Marketing Claims Are Preempted

    HARTFORD, Conn. — A consumer on Oct. 28 opposed a motion by Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) to dismiss as preempted his putative class action suit accusing it of violating Florida consumer protection statutes by deceptively advertising ZYN nicotine pouches as a “safer and healthier alternative to smoking” and targeting youth with its marketing and also opposed its motion to stay discovery.

  • October 24, 2024

    Florida Panel Limits New Trial In Widower’s Engle Case To Spousal Damages

    TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Fourth District Florida Court of Appeal on Oct. 23 issued an order on the scope of a new trial in an Engle case in which a dead smoker’s widower originally won $157 million, writing that the new trial should consider only the widower’s entitlement to compensatory damages under the state’s Wrongful Death Act based on new Florida Supreme Court precedent allowing surviving spouses to pursue noneconomic damages even if they married after the relevant injury manifested.

  • October 22, 2024

    FDA Tells High Court New Graphic Warnings Reflect Will Of Congress

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Food and Drug Administration and its federal codefendants on Oct. 21 filed a brief in the U.S. Supreme Court urging it to deny a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by tobacco companies and retailers who are challenging a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ ruling upholding the Food and Drug Administration’s new graphic warnings requirement on tobacco products, asserting that the warnings are proper under the Tobacco Control Act (TCA).

  • October 21, 2024

    Panel Strikes Down Oregon Vape Packaging Rules On Free Speech Grounds

    SALEM, Ore. — An Oregon appellate court held that a state law prohibiting sales of any vape product deemed to be packaged in a manner attractive to minors violates the state constitution’s protection of free speech because it controls the packaging of products sold only to adults and remanded the suit.

  • October 21, 2024

    Judge Grants FDA Request To Terminate Mandatory E-Cig Review Progress Reports

    BALTIMORE — A Maryland federal judge on Oct. 18 entered a docket entry granting the Food and Drug Administration’s motion to remove a two-year-old requirement that FDA provide the court regular status reports on its progress reviewing premarket tobacco applications (PMTAs) for the nation’s top-selling e-cigarette brands, rejecting arguments by health groups and doctors that the reports are still needed.

  • October 18, 2024

    Panel Rejects Tobacco Company’s Statutory Challenge To $8.8M Judgment

    WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Fourth District Florida Court of Appeal panel on Oct. 17 affirmed an $8.8 million judgment in favor of a dead smoker’s estate, rejecting a tobacco company’s argument that due to intervening appeals the judgment was rendered no longer final and therefore must be reduced to lost support and services damages of $295,000.

  • October 18, 2024

    At Least 7 Recent ERISA Putative Class Actions Target Tobacco Surcharges

    In the past month, at least seven putative class actions targeting surcharges that tobacco or nicotine users allegedly must pay to maintain health insurance have been filed under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

  • October 16, 2024

    Citing Loper Bright, Amici Urge High Court To Uphold Reversal Of FDA’s E-Cig Bans

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — E-cigarette makers, politicians, industry associations and economics groups filed eight amicus curiae briefs on Oct. 15 urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the en banc Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ reversal of Food and Drug Administration bans of certain flavored e-cigarette products as arbitrary and capricious, with several amici arguing that the FDA’s bans conflict with Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo.

  • October 15, 2024

    Altria Group, United States Both Seek Judgment In $106M Foreign Tax Dispute

    RICHMOND, Va. — Tobacco company Altria Group Inc. and the United States filed separate motions seeking entry of judgment in a dispute over whether the U.S. Internal Revenue Service owes Altria a roughly $106 million refund for in income taxes Altria says were “erroneously collected” based on taxation of profits earned by the foreign subsidiaries of a foreign company in which Altria held shares.

  • October 08, 2024

    E-Cig MDL Plaintiffs Seek Authorization To Distribute $201M To 842K Class Members

    SAN FRANCISCO — The plaintiffs in a California federal court multidistrict litigation who settled class personal injury and consumer protection claims against e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc. (JLI), tobacco company Altria Group Inc. and its subsidiaries for approximately $300 million filed a motion asking the court to authorize the distribution of $201 million in settlement funds to satisfy more than 842,000 valid claims.

  • October 08, 2024

    Flavored E-Liquid Makers Urge High Court To Reject FDA Defense Of E-Cig Bans

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Two makers of e-cigarette products urge the U.S. Supreme Court in an Oct. 7 response brief to side with the en banc Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in a circuit split over Food and Drug Administration bans of e-cigarette products and affirm the en banc court’s findings that FDA unfairly changed its requirements for vape product manufacturers and “committed prejudicial error” during the review process.

  • October 04, 2024

    Consumer Says Synthetic Nicotine E-Cig Maker Deceptively Marketed To Youth

    NEW YORK — An e-cigarette consumer filed a putative nationwide class action against the manufacturer of Puff Bar e-cigarettes in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, arguing that it unfairly markets its flavored, disposable, synthetic nicotine products to young people and deceptively labels the nicotine content of its products.

  • October 04, 2024

    High Court Grants FDA Petition Challenging Forum In Menthol Vape Suit

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 4 granted the Food and Drug Administration’s petition for a writ of certiorari challenging a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel’s finding of jurisdiction over a challenge to an FDA ban of menthol-flavored e-cigarette products brought by R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. (RJRV) and affiliated entities, which the FDA described as “blatant forum shopping” not supported by the Tobacco Control Act (TCA).

  • October 04, 2024

    Vape Battery Explosion Victim Urges Panel To Uphold $1.6M Verdict

    WILMINGTON, N.C. — A man burned when an e-cigarette device’s battery exploded in his pocket filed an appellee brief urging the North Carolina Court of Appeals to reject arguments for reversal of a jury verdict in his favor worth more than $1.6 million, arguing that the jury heard sufficient evidence to hold a battery distributor liable for his injuries.

  • October 04, 2024

    Juul Founders, Board Members Accused Of Diluting Shares For Personal Profit

    WILMINGTON, Del. — Two Juul Labs Inc. (JLI) stockholders in a derivative complaint filed in Delaware Chancery Court accuse JLI’s co-founders, members of its board of directors and their special investment vehicles of breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment for allegedly orchestrating the dilution of the value of JLI shares before giving their investment vehicles 1.2 billion JLI shares at little cost in an alleged “windfall.”

  • October 03, 2024

    Flavored Vape Wholesalers Deny New York’s Nuisance Claims After Removal

    NEW YORK — Sellers of flavored disposable vapes and the city of New York filed a joint status report in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York updating the court on their arguments in the city’s suit against them for public nuisance and violation of state and federal tobacco laws, which the defendants say are insufficiently pleaded, deficient due to lack of standing and inapplicable to sales between distributors.

  • October 03, 2024

    Putative Class Plaintiff Drops Defendant From Nicotine Pouch Youth Marketing Suit

    HARTFORD, Conn. — A consumer bringing a putative class action suit accusing Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) of violating Florida consumer protection statutes by targeting youth and deceptively advertising Zyn nicotine pouches as a “safer and healthier alternative to smoking” on Oct. 2 filed a notice of voluntary dismissal of co-defendant Swedish Match North America LLC after it moved to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction.

  • September 30, 2024

    E-Cig MDL Plaintiffs Seek Fees After Altria Settles Tribal Claims

    SAN FRANCISCO — The last remaining claims in a California federal court multidistrict litigation against e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc. (JLI), tobacco company Altria Group Inc. and its subsidiaries have been settled, according to a Sept. 27 filing by the plaintiffs’ fee committee asking the court to approve fees and costs of roughly $1.2 million in connection with the settlement of Indian tribes’ claims against Altria.

  • September 27, 2024

    Judge: Loper Bright Argument In ERISA Tobacco Surcharge Row Merits Consideration

    COLUMBUS, Ohio — After supplemental briefing in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act case the U.S. Department of Labor filed over a tobacco surcharge wellness program (TSWP), an Ohio federal judge on Sept. 26 denied dismissal without prejudice, saying the defendants’ argument regarding the impact of Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo “warrants full consideration.”

  • September 26, 2024

    Tobacco Companies Urge Dismissal Of Nicotine Pouch Youth Marketing Claims

    HARTFORD, Conn. — Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) and Swedish Match North America LLC filed motions in Connecticut federal court urging dismissal of a Zyn nicotine pouch consumer’s putative class action suit accusing them violating Florida consumer protection statutes by targeting youth and deceptively advertising the pouch products as a “safer and healthier alternative to smoking.”