Cigarette Smuggling Case Is Dismissed Again

An appeals court for a second time dismissed lawsuits that accused Reynolds American Inc. and British American Tobacco of smuggling cigarettes to avoid taxes and customs duties.

The ruling by the 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals in New York rejected separate lawsuits by the European Union and by 25 departments of Colombia, which are equivalent to U.S. states. The European Union sued R.J. Reynolds, a unit of Reynolds American. The Colombian suit names British American Tobacco, the world’s second-largest cigarette maker.

The court first dismissed the suits last year, only to have the U.S. Supreme Court ask it to reconsider. The appeals court again cited the revenue rule, a U.S. legal principle that bars suits by foreign governments seeking to collect unpaid taxes.