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Juul, Altria Vaping Multidistrict Litigation Overview:
- Who: Altria and Juul moved to dismiss the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe and the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians from an MDL. At the same time, another school district has filed court documents to join the fray.
- Why: The vape companies argue the tribes’ claims don’t have any standing. A North Carolina school system claims that Juul and Altria fueled a youth vaping epidemic.
- Where: The multidistrict litigation is pending California federal court.
Juul Labs Inc., Altria Group Inc., and their executives filed several motions to dismiss the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe and the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians from multidistrict litigation (MDL), arguing the two Native American tribes have no legal basis for their claims.
The two tribes are part of a larger MDL that involves hundreds of plaintiffs across school districts and municipal governments. Wake County Public School System, located in North Carolina, also recently joined the litigation.
The multiple class action lawsuits accuse Juul and its part owner, Altria, of contributing to a youth vaping epidemic.
The complaints allege the companies and their executives marketed e-cigarettes as safer than traditional cigarettes, but designed them to provide higher nicotine doses.
Altria Argues Against ‘Vague’ Accusations by Tribes
In its motions to dismiss, Altria argues that the tribes’ alleged injury is a monetary one, incurred from dealing with the effects of vaping, which does not fall under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act cited in the lawsuit.
Altria also calls the claims of nuisance and negligence “vague” and “general” since they lack allegations that are specific to Altria and instead address Altria and Juul together although the accusations are prior to December 2018 when Altria bought a 35 percent interest in Juul.
Further, Altria claims the tribes failed to prove that tribe members who used vapes would not otherwise have done so barring Altria’s and Juul’s alleged actions.
Juul Denies Basis for Negligence, Conspiracy
Juul similarly argued that the Grand Traverse Band’s claims of negligence under Michigan laws were invalid because the claims were economic losses and specifically not about property damage. Juul says the tribe’s other claims don’t qualify under Michigan consumer protections since the sale of electronic cigarettes is authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration.
The Saint Regis Mohawk tribe’s separate claim for civil conspiracy in New York does not work because the state does not recognize civil conspiracy as an independent tort, according to Juul’s motions.
Juul’s founders James Monsees and Adam Bowen, directors Nicholas Pritzker and Riaz Valani, and former director Hoyoung Huh also filed similar motions to dismiss.
North Carolina School District Joins Juul Litigation
Even as Juul and Altria argue for dismissal of the litigation, Wake County Public School System, located in North Carolina, filed court documents asking to join the plaintiffs in claims that the companies’ marketing of e-cigarettes has set gains in stopping teen tobacco use back decades.
The school district accuses Juul and Altria of setting out to create a product that would capitalize on nicotine addictions, including that of teens and young adults. Juul vape pens rapidly deliver a high dose of nicotine and are easy for students to conceal, notes the court document.
Juul’s marketing campaign targeting teens and youth left schools to contend with rising vape use among their students. Nicotine adversely affects growing teen brains, making them prone to anxiety and addiction more likely, claims the school district.
This summer, Juul agreed to pay $40 million to end a lawsuit lodged by the Attorney General in North Carolina accusing the company of targeting youth in its e-cigarette ads.
Juul and Altria chalked up another loss when a California judge ruled the vape companies had to face 18 bellwether lawsuits that allege the pair lied to consumers about the safety of vaping which fueled the youth vaping epidemic.
To see if you qualify to join the Juul e-cigarette lung injury class action lawsuit investigation click here (links to paid attorney advertisement).
The plaintiffs in the MDL are represented by 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.
Don’t Miss Out!
Check out our list of Class Action Lawsuits and Class Action Settlements you may qualify to join!
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- Do You Qualify: JUUL Vaping Heart and Lung Side Effects Lawsuit Claim Review
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- Investors Ask Court To Compel Former Juul Labs Director To Attend Deposition Over Underage Marketing Allegations
- Juul and Altria Call for Courts to End Investor Class Action Lawsuit
