Court overturns $10B Philip Morris lawsuitCourt overturns $10B Philip Morris lawsuit
12/15/2005
SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Dec 15, 2005 (UPI via COMTEX) --
The Illinois Supreme Court overturned a $10 billion class-action lawsuit against Philip Morris that held it liable for false advertising of light cigarettes.
The deeply divided state high court Thursday said it found no fraud in the company's marketing of its light cigarettes. It sent the case back to Madison County court with orders to discuss the matter, the Chicago Sun-Times said.
The court ruled that the Federal Trade Commission specifically allowed companies to characterize their cigarettes as "light" and "low tar."
Therefore, the justices ruled, Philip Morris did not improperly mislead customers about the health impacts of its cigarettes.
Wall Street analysts had predicted victory for Philip Morris, maker of Marlboro Lights cigarettes, in the 2003 verdict.
One analyst, Robert Campagnino of Prudential Securities, called the original verdict "a product of a less-than-favorable venue for corporate defendants and a judge that appeared to be favorably disposed to plaintiff issues." the Belleville News-Democrat said.
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