Another Us State Files Suit Against Tobacco Firms

Tobacco companies had sued the state several weeks ago in an effort to block the suit. The industry alleged in its challenge that state law does not allow the attorney general to use outside law firms on a contingency fee basis.

NJ Governor Christie Whitman announced on April 11 that the state would sue the tobacco industry.

She said the state was taking the action on behalf of New Jersey taxpayers who have been forced to foot the bill for treating tobacco-related illnesses. The tobacco industry must be held accountable for allowing the public to consume a product it has known to be hazardous and addictive.

 

New Jersey's action is part of mounting legal attacks against the industry including the White House's approval last month of Food & Drug Administration regulation of cigarettes.

The number of lawsuits filed by states and individuals has increased rapidly throughout the summer with more than 200 cases pending in Florida alone.

Norwood Wilner, the lawyer handling most of the Florida cases, filed a separate class action on August 30 on behalf of some 390 smokers.

There are also two other class actions pending in Florida.

Wilner, who won a jury award against the industry on August 9, will try his next case on October 14 in Jacksonville.

Several other states are also seriously considering suits against the industry. Among those, Utah and Hawaii, have also been sued by tobacco companies ahead of any legal action.

In addition to state Medicaid suits, San Francisco has also sued to recoup health care costs of smokers.

On September 6, 11 local governments in California joined San Francisco in its efforts.

The New Jersey suit, filed in the Chancery Division of Middlesex County Superior Court, also seeks to bar manufacturers from marketing and selling their products to minors in New Jersey.

Among charges contained in the suit is that the industry violated the New Jersey Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organisation Act. It alleges that under New Jersey law the industry constitutes an enterprise the purpose of which is to maximize sales through misleading and deceptive claims.

The state is seeking a number of remedies from the court, including ordering the manufactuers to turn over to the state profits from cigarette sales in New Jersey and ordering them to fund public education and smoking cessation programmes.