Posted on 06/14/2006 1:47:45 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
Wednesday June 14, 2006
By JULIE CARR SMYTH
Associated Press Writer
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Two smokers can't bring a class action lawsuit against Philip Morris USA Inc. over the way the tobacco giant markets ``light'' cigarettes, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.
The smokers had argued that Richmond, Va.-based Philip Morris knew cigarettes it marketed as having less tar and nicotine would be as dangerous as regular cigarettes.
The tobacco giant contended that Ohio law requires a more specific warning from the state on a company's marketing practices before allowing lawsuits to apply beyond individuals to an entire class.
The high court threw out a lower court's ruling that had been fought by powerful lobbyists for manufacturers and other Ohio businesses.
Writing for the majority, Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton said the court did not rule on the underlying question of whether Philip Morris acted to ``deliberately deceive consumers into believing that Marlboro Lights and Virginia Slims Lights are safer or healthier than other cigarettes'' only on whether the smokers were eligible for class-action status.
For class-action status, she wrote, Philip Morris would have had to act in a way ``previously declared to be deceptive'' under Ohio law, and the smokers failed to demonstrate the company had.
In a dissent, Justice Paul Pfeifer attacked the majority's ``unconscionably narrow reading'' of Ohio law, saying it would mean ``many deceived parties will have no recourse against the company that deceived them.''
Attorneys in the case did not immediately return calls.
Last year, the Illinois Supreme Court threw out a $10.1 billion fraud judgment against Philip Morris in another class-action lawsuit involving ``light'' cigarettes. That court found the Federal Trade Commission allowed companies to characterize their cigarettes as ``light'' and ``low tar,'' and as a result, Philip Morris could not be held liable under state law even if the terms they used could be found false or misleading.
BUMP
A little common sense shines in the darkness.
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