Canadian Firms Hit With Suit for Fatal Fires

Canadian cigarette manufacturers have been hit with a class-action suit that seeks to hold them liable for deaths, injuries and property losses stemming from cigarette fires, the leading cause of fire deaths in Canada as well as the U.S. Named plaintiffs in the suit, filed Tuesday in Toronto, are the families of three children who were burned to death in a January 1998 fire that resulted from careless smoking. The suit contends that cigarette makers have long known how to produce cigarettes that are less prone to ignite furniture and bedding, but have failed to do so. It names leading Canadian cigarette makers Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc., which is part-owned by Philip Morris; Imperial Tobacco Ltd., controlled by British American Tobacco; and JTI-MacDonald Inc., owned by Japan Tobacco International. The filing came on the same day that Philip Morris announced plans to test-market cigarettes designed to burn cooler to reduce the risk of fires. In the U.S., only a few lawsuits have been filed over fatal cigarette fires, and all were withdrawn or dismissed before trial. Toronto lawyer Douglas Lennox said his clients had instructed him that they don’t want money, but want “these companies in Canada to make a safer product, and if they’re willing to agree to do that, we’re ready to settle the suit..”