United States

Smokers of Camel cigarettes filed a class action lawsuit against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR) when the company ended its “Camel Cash” loyalty program but failed to make certain merchandise available for redemption during the final six months of the program. RJR requested penalties against the class action plaintiffs for filing what RJR believed to be a frivolous claim since cigarettes and coupons for cigarettes – which it defined as a type of merchandise – were available during the six-month period in question. In this decision, the court allowed the lawsuit to continue and denied RJR’s request for sanctions.