Judge gives preliminary OK to $45M Altria settlement over Juul e-cigarettes

Juul e-cigarettes Altria settlement overview: 

• Who: A federal judge in California preliminarily approved a $45 million settlement between Altria Group and a class of consumers. 
• Why: The settlement ends consumers’ claims they overpaid for unsafe Juul e-cigarettes and is part of a broader $235 million deal made to resolve Juul-related litigation at both the federal and state level. 
• Where: The settlement stems from a case in California federal court. 

A California federal judge preliminarily approved a $45 million settlement between Altria Group and a class of consumers arguing they paid more for Juul e-cigarettes than they would have if they had known how unsafe they were. 

The settlement will benefit a class of consumers who purchased a Juul e-cigarette from a brick and mortar store or online retailer in the U.S. prior to Dec. 6, 2022, Law360 reports. Altria is a former Juul investor.

Consumers claimed they were not given accurate information about Juul e-cigarettes’ addictiveness and safety and argued they also would not have paid as much for them had they known the e-cigarettes were being unlawfully marketed to minors. 

The settlement, meanwhile, is part of a broader $235 million settlement agreed to by Altria to put an end to Juul-related litigation at both the federal and state levels, according to Law360. 

Altria settlement class will be compensated based on amount paid for Juul products

Settlement class members will reportedly be compensated based on the estimated total amount they paid for Juul products, while those who have already submitted a claim for a separate $255 million settlement agreed to by Juul Labs will not be required to submit another. 

“Instead, the amount each eligible class member receives will be increased by the additional funds made available due to the Altria class action settlement,” the motion for preliminary approval states, as reported by Law360. 

The $255 million settlement Juul Labs agreed to was announced in December 2022 and put an end to claims the company falsely advertised its products by concealing their addictiveness in order to sell them to consumers, including minors. 

Did you purchase a Juul e-cigarette from a brick-and-mortar store or online before Dec. 6, 2022? Let us know in the comments.

The Juul e-cigarettes Altria settlement 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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