Tobacco Lawsuit Blocked in Ohio
Two Ohio smokers cannot bring a class-action lawsuit against Philip Morris USA Inc. over the way the tobacco giant marketed “light” cigarettes, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.
The smokers had argued that Richmond, Va.-based Philip Morris knew that cigarettes it marketed as having less tar and nicotine would be as dangerous as regular cigarettes.
The tobacco company, a unit of Altria Group Inc., contended that Ohio law would allow a class action only if the state had given the company a specific warning about its marketing practices.
In a divided decision, the high court ruled that the smokers had failed to demonstrate that when pitching its light cigarettes Philip Morris acted in a way “previously declared to be deceptive” under Ohio law. Manufacturers and other Ohio businesses had criticized a lower court’s decision permitting a class action, saying it could expose other business sectors to litigation.
Writing for the majority, Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton said the court’s ruling should not be interpreted as ruling on 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.
She said that smokers might be able to bring their action, which has been tied up in court for years, under another section of Ohio law, but not under the state’s consumer protection law.
In a strongly worded dissent, Justice Paul Pfeifer attacked the majority’s “unconscionably narrow reading” of Ohio law, saying it “has effectively immunized companies from class-action lawsuits by the people they deceive.” He said past case law, although it dealt with consumer products other than cigarettes, should apply in this case.
If Philip Morris “acted as alleged, it knew that it was being deceptive and it knew that another company, albeit in a different business, had been found liable for a similar deceptive and unconscionable practice,” Pfeifer wrote.
Charles R. Saxbe, an attorney for the smokers, said the consumer protection law permitted higher damages than other sections of Ohio law did.
Deceptive conduct by a business should be enough reason to compensate consumers, he said.
“The unfortunate thing about this decision is that it raises the bar impossibly,” Saxbe said.
A decision has not been made on whether to appeal the ruling, he said.
In a statement, Philip Morris USA President William S. Ohlemeyer praised the court.
“Today’s decision is a sensible one that reflects the intent of the state’s consumer protection law,” he said.
Last year, the Illinois Supreme Court threw out a $10.1-billion fraud judgment against Philip Morris in a class-action lawsuit involving so-called light cigarettes. That court found that 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.
A case is also pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, which said last month that it would decide whether Philip Morris must pay nearly $80 million in damages to the family of a longtime smoker, a case that could shield companies from large jury awards if the company wins.
