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E-cigarette producer Juul and its largest investor can’t escape 18 bellwether lawsuits that allege the pair lied to consumers about the safety of vaping and fueled the youth vaping epidemic, a judge has ruled.
On Thursday, a California federal judge threw out certain claims in the 18 lawsuits against Juul Labs Inc. and investor Altria Group Inc., but said the multidistrict litigation could go ahead, Law360 reported.
Juul has been accused of intentionally marketing e-cigarette products to teens and claiming they are safer than traditional cigarettes. Hundreds of plaintiffs claim the products actually give higher doses of nicotine than normal tobacco cigarettes, which can cause serious health implications.
The class action lawsuits allege the companies targeted teens on social media and through marketing to present Juul as “fun” and “harmless.”
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge William H. Orrick threw out some strict liability claims, but found most of the other claims strong enough to proceed, Law360 reported.
One of the claims that survived was allegations that Altria committed fraud due to its involvement in the “Make the Switch” advertising campaign that encouraged smokers to switch to e-cigs.
Altria holds a 35% stake in Juul, and is also the maker of Marlboro cigarettes. Plaintiffs also allege it made false nicotine content statements on Juul packaging.
“Whether plaintiffs can prove their allegations against Altria — including whether the statements were fraudulent or misrepresented anything known by Altria — and whether the specific bellwether plaintiffs can establish the connection between their harms and the representations made or facilitated by Altria, will be tested at summary judgment or trial,” Judge Orrick reportedly wrote.
Altria had tried to slip out of the lawsuits by claiming plaintiffs hadn’t adequately alleged its role in the epidemic.
However, Judge Orrick ruled that plaintiff school districts, Native American tribes and municipal governments involved in the multidistrict litigation had put forward a plausible theory to hold up claims Altria violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
If you or a loved one developed heart or lung problems after using e-cigarettes containing nicotine and/or THC, you may qualify to join this e-cigarette lung injury lawsuit investigation. Click here for more information.
Do you think the dangers of e-cigarettes were misrepresented? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiffs are represented by co-lead counsel Sarah R. London of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, Dena Sharp of Girard Sharp LLP, Dean Kawamoto of Keller Rohrback LLP and Ellen Relkin of Weitz & Luxenberg.
The Juul Altria Multidistrict Litigation is In re: Juul Labs Inc. Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation, Case No. 3:19-md-02913, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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9 thoughts onJuul Must Face 18 Lawsuits Alleging Its Lies Helped Create a Youth Vaping Epidemic
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Grandson uses it.