NC Court Considers One Trial for Tobacco Lawsuits
By Matt Green
Published on September 23, 2005
The state court is reviewing a controversial decision by Circuit Court Judge Arthur Recht. The Ohio County judge stopped plans for a two-phase trial that would've covered all tobacco lawsuits in North Carolina.
In their lawsuits, smokers accuse cigarette makers of tricking them into smoking. The allegations include:
- Concealing the health risks of smoking
- Marketing to children
- Falsely advertising that "light" cigarettes are safer
- Manipulating nicotine levels in certain brands.
Smokers seek compensation for health problems, such as lung cancer, and punitive damages for deceptive marketing.
Tobacco companies such as Philip Morris USA Inc. say cases should be tried individually. They contend a class-action trial will force them to pay plaintiffs who don't deserve compensation.
For instance, Big Tobacco contends it would have to pay a 30-year-old smoker for misleading advertising in 1950s, even though he wasn't alive at the time of the wrongdoing.
Attorneys for smokers say trying cases individually would take too long -- about 180 years. That means some would be compensated, while others would die before their cases reach trial.
Under the class-action plan, one phase of the trial would determine liability. The second phase would decide the amount of damages to give each plaintiff.
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