Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
Juul/Altria Lawsuits Overview:
- Who: A California judge has ruled the lawyers who filed class action lawsuits against e-cigarette makers Julia and Altria must find new plaintiffs if they want their lawsuits to proceed.
- Why: The current plaintiffs, all direct purchasers of Juul products all clicked a box when buying the products agreeing to Juul’s terms and conditions, including a clause stating that buyers must resolve issues with the company through arbitration, rather than a class action lawsuit. But the judge says finding new plaintiffs shouldn’t be too hard — Juul did not always have that check-box on its website.
- Where: The consolidated antitrust class action lawsuits are playing out in federal court in Northern California.
Lawyers who have filed antitrust class action lawsuits against e-cigarette companies Juul and Altria need to find new plaintiffs to represent the cases, after a judge ruled the current plaintiffs must go into arbitration and cannot have their day in court.
In a Thursday ruling, California Judge William H. Orrick said the current plaintiffs — direct purchasers of Juul — clicked a box when buying the product on the company website which agreed to Juul’s terms and conditions, Law360 reports.
The terms and conditions included a clause that the buyers could not file a class action lawsuit against the company, and would instead have to resolve any issues through arbitration.
Arbitration is different from a class action lawsuit, which takes place in court. Instead, arbitration is a private process that forces individual rather than group claims, according to the American Bar Association.
While a supposedly “neutral” arbitrator oversees the process, consumer advocates worry that powerful corporations, such as Juul, have the upper hand against individuals.
While the judge ruled that the current plaintiffs would have to go to arbitration, he gave the consumers’ lawyers 30 days to find new plaintiffs who did not agree to those particular terms and conditions.
Judge Orrick said this shouldn’t be too hard, as prior to 2018, Juul did not have that check-box on its website.
The antitrust class action lawsuits go back to a deal in which Juul’s former rival Altria paid $12.8 billion for a 35 percent stake in Juul. The plaintiffs allege the deal was designed by the companies to reduce competition in the e-cig market, causing increased prices and decreased quality for consumers.
Apart from forcing the lawyers who filed the class actions to find new plaintiffs, Judge Orrick’s ruling is promising for the Class, Law360 reports.
His ruling reportedly rejected Juul and Altria’s arguments that the Class could not show antitrust injury.
“At this juncture, the information that can be incorporated by reference does not fatally undermine plaintiffs’ allegations of antitrust injury,” he wrote.
He said the plaintiffs had sufficiently alleged that the $12.8 billion deal had resulted in “supracompetitive” prices.
“The departure of the second largest competitor in the closed system e-vapor market — where Altria allegedly held around 8 percent of the market — supports the plausibly allegation that Altria’s departure led to supracompetitive prices, reduced output, and reduced innovation,” he wrote.
Meanwhile Juul and Altria are also facing 18 bellwether lawsuits that allege the pair lied to consumers about the safety of vaping and fueled the youth vaping epidemic.
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.”
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 a e-cigarette lung injury lawsuit investigation.
The qualified attorneys working with Top Class Actions are looking into filing class action lawsuits that resulted from JUUL lung damage to help you receive the compensation you deserve. Click here for more information.
What do you think of the business practices of Juul and Altria? Let us know in the comments!
Don’t Miss Out!
Check out our list of Class Action Lawsuits and Class Action Settlements you may qualify to join!
Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:
