The plaintiffs filed an action against two tobacco companies under the Medicare Secondary Payer statute (MSP) seeking recovery for expenses paid by Medicare to cover healthcare services for individuals who suffered from conditions "'attributable to cigarette smoking." The plaintiffs argued that exposing these individuals to the "addictive properties of nicotine without [their] consent" constituted battery. The Court held that an alleged tortfeasor's responsibility for medical costs paid by Medicare must be established before a private suit for recovery can be brought. Because the defendants had not been found liable, the Court affirmed the lower court's dismissal for failure to state a claim.
Glover, et al. v. Liggett Group, Inc., et al., 449 F. Supp. 2d 992, United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit (2006).
Governments or insurance agencies may seek reimbursement from the tobacco companies for health care costs related to tobacco. The most famous example is the case brought by individual states in the U.S.A. that resulted in the Master Settlement Agreement.
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.
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.
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.
"When Plaintiffs filed their MSP claim, Defendants’ responsibility to pay for items or services had not yet been “demonstrated,” which is a condition precedent to Defendants’ obligation to reimburse Medicare under section 1395y(b)(2)(B)(ii). Until Defendants’ responsibility to pay for a Medicare beneficiary’s expenses has been demonstrated (for example, by a judgment), Defendants’ obligation to reimburse Medicare does not exist under the relevant provisions. Therefore, it cannot be said that Defendants have “failed” to provide appropriate
reimbursement. Based on this language, we conclude that an alleged tortfeasor’s responsibility for payment of a Medicare beneficiary’s medical costs must be demonstrated before an MSP private cause of action for failure to reimburse Medicare can correctly be brought under section 1395y(b)(3)(A)."
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 plaintiffs filed an action against two tobacco companies under the Medicare Secondary Payer statute (MSP) seeking recovery for expenses paid by Medicare to cover healthcare services for individuals who suffered from conditions "'attributable to cigarette smoking." The plaintiffs argued that exposing these individuals to the "addictive properties of nicotine without [their] consent" constituted battery. The Court held that an alleged tortfeasor's responsibility for medical costs paid by Medicare must be established before a private suit for recovery can be brought. Because the defendants had not been found liable, the Court affirmed the lower court's dismissal for failure to state a claim.