Mealey's Tobacco
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November 22, 2022
Synthetic Nicotine Sellers Say Government Illegally Refused To Accept 12 Bundled PMTAs
TYLER, Texas — A distributor and a retailer of synthetic nicotine products jointly sued government agencies and officials for refusing to accept 12 bundled Premarket Tobacco Product Applications (PMTAs) the distributor filed, asserting that that the refusal violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and asking the court to stay the refusal to accept (RTA) order.
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November 22, 2022
Tobacco Companies Seek 9th Circuit Affirmance In California Flavor Ban Fight
SAN DIEGO — Tobacco companies and a retailers’ association suing to block California’s statewide ban of flavored tobacco product sales are asking the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to promptly affirm a California federal court’s denial of their motion for an injunction of the state’s ban so that they “can promptly seek review in the Supreme Court,” citing binding circuit precedent.
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November 22, 2022
Judge Dismisses Claims Against Korean Battery Maker For Burns From E-Cig Explosion
NORFOLK, Va. — A Virginia federal judge dismissed a man’s claims against a South Korea-based battery maker for manufacturing the lithium-ion batteries that allegedly exploded in his e-cigarette device, causing severe burns to his leg, after finding that the plaintiff failed to establish the court’s jurisdiction over the battery-maker.
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November 15, 2022
Tobacco Companies, California Ask For Denial In Flavor Ban Suit To Allow Appeal
SAN DIEGO — Tobacco companies and a retailers’ association on Nov. 14 filed a joint motion with the California attorney general and San Diego County district attorney asking a California federal court to enter an order denying the tobacco companies’ motion for a preliminary injunction so they may immediately appeal a statewide ban of sales of flavored tobacco products to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
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November 15, 2022
Amici Urge High Court To Strike Down Flavored Tobacco Ban; L.A. Waives Response
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A nonprofit public interest firm, an e-cigarette industry association and a group of e-cigarette businesses and trade association on Nov. 14 filed amicus curiae briefs in support of three tobacco companies’ petition for a writ of certiorari challenging a split Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel’s affirmance of Los Angeles County’s ban on flavored tobacco products after the county waived its right to respond.
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November 10, 2022
Tobacco Companies Sue After California Voters Approve Statewide Flavor Ban
SAN DIEGO — Tobacco companies and a retailers’ association on Nov. 9 sued California’s attorney general and San Diego County’s district attorney for an injunction barring enforcement of a statewide ban of sales of flavored tobacco products after voters passed Proposition 31 the day before, arguing that the ban is preempted by federal law.
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November 09, 2022
Role Of Cigarette Use, Addiction In Asbestos Trial At Issue In Briefs
PHILADELPHIA — A lung cancer victim’s tobacco use, awareness of warnings and potential addiction to nicotine were focal points of recent briefing on an upcoming trial in a federal asbestos case in Pennsylvania alleging exposure in the Navy.
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November 07, 2022
FTC Counsel Says Altria Exit From Juul Noncompete Doesn’t Moot Antitrust Claims
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Counsel for the Federal Trade Commission argue in a recent response brief that tobacco company Altria Group Inc.’s recent withdrawal from a noncompete agreement with e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc. (JLI) after Altria’s $12.8 billion investment in JLI dwindled to 3% of its original value is irrelevant to a pending administrative appeal of the dismissal of the FTC’s antitrust claims against the companies.
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November 04, 2022
R.J. Reynolds Seeks New Trial After $95M E-Cigarette Patent Infringement Verdict
GREENSBORO, N.C. — R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. (RJR) is asking a North Carolina federal court for a new trial, remittitur or to issue judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) in its favor after a jury ordered it to pay more than $95 million to Altria Client Services LLC for infringing three of Altria’s patents for pod-based vape technology, including with RJR’s Vuse Alto e-cigarette.
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November 04, 2022
Judge Denies Summary Judgment In Nicotine Pouch Makers’ Trade Secrets Dispute
LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge denied a motion for summary judgment filed in a trade secrets dispute between Swedish and American companies involved in manufacturing and selling nicotine pouches, concluding that the claims are not time-barred and that material facts in dispute preclude summary judgment.
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November 03, 2022
Tobacco Companies Invite Amicus Briefs In High Court Challenge To L.A. Flavor Ban
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Three tobacco companies recently filed a blanket consent to the filing of amicus curiae briefs in their pending U.S. Supreme Court petition for a writ of certiorari seeking review of a split Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel’s affirmance of the dismissal of their challenge to a ban on flavored tobacco products enacted by Los Angeles County, which they say conflicts with high court precedent.
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November 03, 2022
Oregon County Appeals Order Blocking Its Flavored Tobacco Ban As Preempted
SALEM, Ore. — An Oregon county is appealing to the Oregon Court of Appeals after a state court judge blocked its countywide ban on sales of flavored tobacco and nicotine products that the judge found preempted by a state law under which only a state agency is authorized to prohibit sales by licensed tobacco stores.
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November 03, 2022
$117M Settlement Of Altria Shareholders’ Claims Gets Judge’s Preliminary Approval
RICHMOND, Va. — Two months after rejecting an earlier proposed settlement for the same dollar amount as “inadequate,” a Virginia federal judge granted an unopposed motion for preliminary approval of a $117 million settlement filed by shareholders in tobacco company Altria Group Inc. to resolve derivative claims that certain Altria officers and directors breached their fiduciary duty by orchestrating a $12.8 billion investment into Juul Labs Inc. (JLI).
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November 01, 2022
North Carolina Judge Dismisses AG’s Suit Against Juul Execs
DURHAM, N.C. — A North Carolina judge dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction a lawsuit filed by the state attorney general accusing Juul Labs Inc. (JLI) co-founders Adam Bowen and James Monsees and three board members of directing the company’s strategy to illegally market its products to youths after finding that the claims are not based on any defendants’ activities in or targeted at the state.
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November 01, 2022
Jury Returns Defense Verdict In Smoker’s Widow’s Suit Against Tobacco Companies
MIAMI — A Florida jury rejected all claims brought in an Engle lawsuit by the widow of a dead smoker who immigrated from Cuba at age 37 and operated a grocery store in Miami, after tobacco companies argued at trial that the smoker’s addiction to cigarettes was developed while he lived in Cuba and wasn’t influenced by any tobacco company statements or advertisements.
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November 01, 2022
Tobacco Companies Move To Set Aside Verdict For Smoker’s Daughter
MIAMI — Two tobacco companies moved in Florida state court to set aside a $2.2 million verdict for compensatory damages issued in an Engle trial in favor of the daughter of a dead smoker, issued by a jury that found the smoker 75% at fault for his own death and divided the remaining fault three ways, arguing that federal conflict preemption and federal labeling regulations preempt her claims.
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October 28, 2022
3rd Circuit Upholds FDA’s Nationwide Ban Of E-Liquids Maker’s Products
PHILADELPHIA — A Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Oct. 27 denied a petition for review of a Food and Drug Administration order denying premarket tobacco applications (PMTAs) filed by a flavored e-liquids maker, ruling that the FDA did not change its standards of review or improperly prohibit the company’s products from the market.
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October 27, 2022
Jury Rejects Late Smoker’s Daughter’s Engle Claims Against Tobacco Companies
QUINCY, Fla. — A Florida jury returned a defense verdict in favor of two tobacco companies in a deceased smoker’s daughter’s wrongful death Engle lawsuit, rejecting her arguments that her father was hopelessly addicted to smoking and had been deceived by the companies’ advertising into continuing smoking filtered and low-tar cigarettes out of the false belief that they were healthier. VIDEO FROM THE TRIAL IS AVAILABLE.
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October 26, 2022
Smoker’s Husband Urges Florida Supreme Court To Review Attorney Fees Reversal
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A dead smoker’s husband urges the Florida Supreme Court to review a split appellate panel’s reversal of a trial court’s $2.5 million award in his favor for attorney fees, which the panel majority found unreasonable due to concerns of double recovery, arguing that the majority’s ruling wasn’t founded on the challenge a tobacco company raised on appeal.
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October 25, 2022
9th Circuit Allows Juul MDL Defendants’ Appeal Of Class Certification Order
SAN FRANCISCO — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals two-judge panel on Oct. 24 in an exercise of discretion granted petitions by Juul Labs Inc. (JLI), Altria Group Inc. and several co-defendants to appeal a judge’s ruling certifying four classes bringing claims for up to $10 billion in damages in the multidistrict litigation against them for deceptive and illegal marketing and sales practices that allegedly targeted youth.
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October 25, 2022
Cigarillo Maker: High Court Should Ignore ‘Illusions’ Of Jurisdictional Split
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A cigarillo maker and its parent company argue in a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court that a rival cigar maker’s petition for a writ of certiorari “should be denied without hesitation,” contending that no circuit split or error of law is involved in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ finding of jurisdiction over the cigarillo companies’ appeal of the vacatur of a $44 million verdict in their favor after they voluntarily dismissed their own claims.
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October 20, 2022
COMMENTARY: Is Today’s Attempt At A Public Nuisance “Super Tort” The Emperor’s New Clothes Of Modern Litigation?
By Philip S. Goldberg
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October 20, 2022
Deceased Smoker’s Daughter Tells Jury He Was Deceived By Tobacco Company Ads
QUINCY, Fla. — A smoker’s daughter told jurors in her wrongful death Engle lawsuit against two tobacco companies that her father was hopelessly addicted to smoking prior to his death and that his addiction deepened while he told family members, based on the companies’ deceptive advertising, that filtered and low-tar cigarettes were healthier for him. VIDEO FROM THE TRIAL IS AVAILABLE.
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October 19, 2022
U.S. Sues Vape Makers Selling Vapes And E-Liquids Without FDA Approval
The U.S. Department of Justice on Oct. 18 filed six complaints against vape manufacturers in six states that it alleges are illegally manufacturing and selling “adulterated” e-cigarette devices and e-liquids without Food and Drug Administration approval despite repeated warnings from the government.
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October 11, 2022
Investment Group Sues Ex-Pax Employee For Juul Stock Dividends
SAN FRANCISCO — An investment organization filed a complaint in California federal court against a former of employee of Pax Labs, which developed e-cigarette technology before spinning off Juul Labs Inc. as a separate company, contending that he is violating a share purchase agreement by refusing to release $7.4 million in dividends received on his Juul stock after Altria Group Inc. invested $12.8 billion in the company.