The plaintiff, a blind, diabetic prisoner, who had quit smoking after receiving surgery for a pituitary adenoma, claimed that prison officials and the State of Delaware Department of Corrections violated his right to freedom from cruel and unusual punishment, as guaranteed under the United States Constitution, by exposing him to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). According to the plaintiff, the exposure created serious medical needs and posed an unreasonable risk of harm to his health and safety. He therefore asserted that he was entitled to damages for present and future injuries. Furthermore, the plaintiff claimed that prison officials retaliated against him by using excessive force, including the use of physical violence, for filing the lawsuit. The defendants claimed that they were entitled to qualified immunity for the ETS claims, as well as for the retaliation and excessive force claims. The district court denied the defendants' motion for summary judgment. On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit found that a court could decide that the defendants violated the plaintiff's right to freedom from cruel and unusual punishment by exposing him to an unreasonable risk of present and future harm. Insofar as the defendants potentially violated a clearly established fundamental right, they were not entitled to qualified immunity for either the ETS or retaliation claims. The Court of Appeals did not pass judgment on the actual objective or subjective elements of the plaintiff's ETS claims.
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.
An individual or organization may sue their own government in order to advance or protect the public interest. For example, an NGO may sue the government claiming the government’s weak tobacco control laws violated their constitutional right to health.
A violation of the protection against cruel and unusual punishment. For example, prisoners may claim that exposure to secondhand smoke violates this right.
The court might consider procedural matters without touching the merits of the case. These might include: improper joinder, when third parties, such as Health NGOs or government officials, seek to become parties to the suit; lack of standing, where a plaintiff fails to meet the minimum requirements to bring suit; lack of personal jurisdiction, where the court does not have jurisdiction to rule over the defendant; or lack of subject matter jurisdiction, where the court does not have jurisdiction over the issue at suit.
The plaintiff, a blind, diabetic prisoner, who had quit smoking after receiving surgery for a pituitary adenoma, claimed that prison officials and the State of Delaware Department of Corrections violated his right to freedom from cruel and unusual punishment, as guaranteed under the United States Constitution, by exposing him to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). According to the plaintiff, the exposure created serious medical needs and posed an unreasonable risk of harm to his health and safety. He therefore asserted that he was entitled to damages for present and future injuries. Furthermore, the plaintiff claimed that prison officials retaliated against him by using excessive force, including the use of physical violence, for filing the lawsuit. The defendants claimed that they were entitled to qualified immunity for the ETS claims, as well as for the retaliation and excessive force claims. The district court denied the defendants' motion for summary judgment. On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit found that a court could decide that the defendants violated the plaintiff's right to freedom from cruel and unusual punishment by exposing him to an unreasonable risk of present and future harm. Insofar as the defendants potentially violated a clearly established fundamental right, they were not entitled to qualified immunity for either the ETS or retaliation claims. The Court of Appeals did not pass judgment on the actual objective or subjective elements of the plaintiff's ETS claims.