Illinois Supreme Court Vacates Lower Court Ruling Attempting to Reinstate Prior “Lights” Judgment
November 04 2015 - 1:44PM
Business Wire
The Illinois Supreme Court today ruled in Philip Morris USA’s
(PM USA) favor, vacating the appellate court ruling attempting to
reinstate a multi-billion dollar judgment against the company in
the dismissed Price case.
“Today’s action by the Illinois Supreme Court effectively wipes
away the last seven years of court proceedings and requires the
plaintiffs to start from scratch,” said Murray Garnick, Altria
Client Services senior vice president and associate general
counsel, speaking on behalf of PM USA. “The court held that the
plaintiffs filed the wrong motion in the wrong court. Now to
succeed, plaintiffs would have to file a new motion in the Illinois
Supreme Court and convince at least four justices to recall their
own order, which dismissed the case 10 years ago.”
The Price case began in 2000 and alleged that PM USA deceived
Illinois smokers who purchased Marlboro Lights and Cambridge Lights
cigarettes. The plaintiffs sought a refund of a portion of the
purchase price. After a three-month trial in 2003, a Madison County
Circuit Court judge imposed a $10.1 billion judgment against PM
USA, with $1.7 billion going to the plaintiffs’ attorneys.
The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the award and dismissed
the case two years later. Since then, the plaintiffs’ attorneys
have sought to reopen the case on numerous occasions and reinstate
the award, and in April 2014, they successfully persuaded an
intermediate appellate court to do so.
On appeal from the company, the state’s highest court agreed to
hear the case nearly a decade after rendering its first decision.
During the May oral argument, the company outlined several reasons
why the court should let its 2005 decision stand.
“PM USA has been very successful in defending these cases on a
variety of legal grounds. In fact, most of these cases have been
dismissed prior to trial,” added Garnick.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) prohibits the use of
“lights” and other descriptors unless a manufacturer receives
authorization to use the terms. The FDA began regulating tobacco
products in 2009 with the passage of the Family Smoking Prevention
and Tobacco Control Act.
The case is Price v. Philip Morris Incorporated, case number
00-L-112.
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