Tobacco Companies Want Ruling on Conduct Nullified

A 2006 Florida Supreme Court ruling that the tobacco industry sold defective products, covered up evidence about the health risks of smoking and lied to the public is being challenged in federal court, Bloomberg reported Jan. 26.

Cigarette companies are asking a federal appeals court in Atlanta to prevent the Florida court’s ruling from being applied in federal cases against the industry. Plaintiffs from the former Engle class-action suit in Florida have successfully used the findings to bolster their liability cases against Altria’s Philip Morris USA unit and others.

Industry lawyers claim the ruling violates their due-process rights. “The complaints allege that the defendants were negligent and that they sold defective cigarettes,” said attorney Andrew Frey. “Our position is that you have to specify the particular respect in which the product was defective, the particular respect in which the defendant was negligent.”  

Lawyers for the Engle plaintiffs said there was ample evidence to support the Florida Supreme Court’s decision and that federal courts were obliged to follow the state court’s ruling.