Aspinall, et al. v. Philip Morris Companies, Inc., et al.
Smokers sued Philip Morris under Massachusetts' consumer protection statute for fraud, alleging that Philip Morris had labeled its products "light" and "low tar" to lead smokers to believe that such cigarettes were lower in nicotine and tar. The plaintiffs requested class certification. At issue on appeal is whether defendants' allegedly deceptive conduct may be challenged in a class action seeking damages. The Court affirmed the trial court's order of certification of a class consisting of purchasers of Marlboro Lights cigarettes in Massachusetts during the four years preceding the filing of the plaintiffs' original complaint.
Aspinall, et al. v. Philip Morris Companies, Inc., et al., 442 Mass. 381, Supreme Judicial Court of Massachussets (2004).
Some jurisdictions allow an individual or organization to initiate an action against another private party who is not following a particular law. For example, a person may sue a restaurant that allows smoking despite a smoke free law. If the plaintiff is claiming the violation of the law caused physical harm, this may also be a personal injury case.
An individual or organization may seek civil damages against a tobacco company based on the claim that the use of tobacco products causes disease or death. Some of these cases will relate to general tobacco products, while others will relate to specific subcategories of tobacco products--for example, light or low products, menthol or other flavored products. Additionally, there may be cases relating to exposure to secondhand smoke.
Measures to regulate the marketing on tobacco packages. This includes both bans on false, misleading, deceptive packaging, as well as required health warnings on packaging.
(See FCTC Art. 11)
Any violation of a law designed to ensure fair trade, competition, or the free flow of truthful information in the marketplace. For example, a government may require businesses to disclose detailed information about products—particularly in areas where safety or public health is an issue.
A claim of an infringement of any international trade agreement, including General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), or bilateral treaties.
The tobacco industry may have perpetrated a fraud upon the public or the courts by presenting false information or deliberately hiding known-facts.
Type of Tobacco Product
None
Limitations regarding the use of quotes The quotes provided here reflect statements from a specific decision. Accordingly, the International Legal Consortium (ILC) cannot guarantee that an appellate court has not reversed a lower court decision which may influence the applicability or influence of a given quote. All quotes have been selected based on the subjective evaluations undertaken by the ILC meaning that quotes provided here may not accurately or comprehensively represent a given court’s opinion or conclusion, as such quotes may have originally appeared alongside other negative opinions or accompanying facts. Further, some quotes are derived from unofficial English translations, which may alter their original meaning. We emphasize the need to review the original decision and related decisions before authoritatively relying on quotes. Using quotes provided here should not be construed as legal advice and is not intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter in any jurisdiction. Please see the full limitations at https://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/about.
"The circumstances in the Leardi case, in which members of the plaintiff class challenged a landlord's efforts to mislead tenants by deceptive use of language in a lease, were essentially no different from the case before us. As fully explained above, the deceptive advertising, as alleged by the plaintiffs in this case, if proved, effected a per se injury on consumers who purchased the cigarettes represented to be lower in tar and nicotine. It follows that, if the violations of G. L. c. 93A alleged by the plaintiffs are proved, all members of the class of purchasers of Marlboro Lights in Massachusetts will have been injured (regardless of whether some smokers actually received lower tar and nicotine). This is so because all purchased (and, presumably, smoked) a product that was deceptively advertised, as a matter of law, because it was falsely labeled or, at least, created the over-all misleading impression that all smokers would receive "lowered tar and nicotine." Thus, all will be entitled to statutory damages, without regard to whether the plaintiffs are successful in establishing that consumers were overcharged for the deceptively advertised cigarettes. See Ciardi v. F. Hoffmann-LaRoche, Ltd., 436 Mass. 53, 60 n.14 (2002). In citing to the Lord case, the defendants, once again, have confused issues of whether the plaintiffs will be able to prove actual damages with whether they have been injured by the defendants' allegedly unlawful conduct. Difficult issues with respect to determining the appropriate amount of actual or statutory damages to be awarded in a class action, or potential difficulties with the distribution of the aggregate damages award, do not preclude class certification when all other requirements are met. See Weld v. Glaxo Wellcome Inc., 434 Mass. 81, 92 (2001)."
Limitations regarding the use of quotes The quotes provided here reflect statements from a specific decision. Accordingly, the International Legal Consortium (ILC) cannot guarantee that an appellate court has not reversed a lower court decision which may influence the applicability or influence of a given quote. All quotes have been selected based on the subjective evaluations undertaken by the ILC meaning that quotes provided here may not accurately or comprehensively represent a given court’s opinion or conclusion, as such quotes may have originally appeared alongside other negative opinions or accompanying facts. Further, some quotes are derived from unofficial English translations, which may alter their original meaning. We emphasize the need to review the original decision and related decisions before authoritatively relying on quotes. Using quotes provided here should not be construed as legal advice and is not intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter in any jurisdiction. Please see the full limitations at https://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/about.
Smokers sued Philip Morris under Massachusetts' consumer protection statute for fraud, alleging that Philip Morris had labeled its products "light" and "low tar" to lead smokers to believe that such cigarettes were lower in nicotine and tar. The plaintiffs requested class certification. At issue on appeal is whether defendants' allegedly deceptive conduct may be challenged in a class action seeking damages. The Court affirmed the trial court's order of certification of a class consisting of purchasers of Marlboro Lights cigarettes in Massachusetts during the four years preceding the filing of the plaintiffs' original complaint.