Mississippi Court Allows Tobacco Lawsuits

By Brian Vargo

Published on July 22, 2005

On June 30, the court re-interpreted a Mississippi law, which previously banned state residents from suing cigarette manufacturers.

The court now interprets the law as allowing lawsuits but keeping the burden of proof high for plaintiffs.

The ruling centers on a Jackson County lawsuit by the family of Mary Lee Latham. She began smoking at age 13, until her death from lung cancer in 2001. The family sued tobacco manufacturers, distribution companies and local stores.

In 2004, Circuit Judge Lamar Pickard dismissed parts of the lawsuit, but did not dismiss these issues:

* Fraudulent misrepresentation
* Conspiracy to defraud
* Negligent misrepresentation
* Deceptive advertising
* Wrongful death

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. lawyers appealed the circuit court ruling. Their reasoning: a state law bans litigation by tobacco users, and a Mississippi Supreme Court decision in 2003 supported the law, so a lower court shouldn't be able to rule otherwise.

The state Supreme Court will allow the lawsuit to proceed in lower courts.

Justice Mike Randolph, writing for the court, said justices concluded in the 2003 case that state law bans all tobacco cases based on product liability, but "not all tobacco cases, which could be based on other possible theories of recovery."

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