TOBACCO CONTROL LAWS

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Jersey v. Philip Morris, Inc.

A health insurer sued several tobacco companies under the New York Consumer Protection Act, seeking recovery of medical costs that resulted from the companies' fraudulent misrepresentations of the health effects of smoking. Following a jury verdict in favor of the plaintiff, the defendants moved for a dismissal as a matter of law on the grounds that the plaintiff failed to prove a cause of action. The Court denied the motion, holding that sufficient evidence existed to support the jury's determination that the defendants had deliberately misled the public about the health effects of smoking and that the higher healthcare costs paid by the plaintiff were a foreseeable and direct result of defendants' actions.  Furthermore, the Court found that the defendants' due process rights and rights to a jury trial were not violated by plaintiff's utilization of broad-based statistical evidence to prove causation and damages.

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Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Jersey, Inc., et al. v. Philip Morris, Incorporated, et al., 178 F. Supp. 2d 198, United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (2001).

  • United States
  • Oct 19, 2001
  • United States District Court, Eastern District of New York
View Case History

Parties

Plaintiff Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Jersey, Inc., et al.

Defendant

  • British American Tobacco, Ltd.
  • Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation
  • Liggett Group, Inc.
  • Lorillard Tobacco Company
  • Philip Morris, Incorporated
  • R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company

Legislation Cited

Related Documents

None

Type of Litigation

Health Care Cost Recovery
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.

Tobacco Control Topics

Contents and Disclosures Measures
Measures for testing, measuring, regulating, or disclosing the contents and emissions of tobacco products. (See FCTC Arts. 9 and 10)
Packaging and Labeling Measures
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)
Advertising, Promotion and Sponsorship
Measures restricting any form of direct or indirect tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship. (See FCTC Art. 13)

Substantive Issues

Right to Procedural Due Process
A violation of the right to procedural fairness. For example, a party may claim that a government agency did not consult with public or stakeholders when issuing regulations.
Consumer Protection Violation

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.

Industry-Perpetrated Fraud
The tobacco industry may have perpetrated a fraud upon the public or the courts by presenting false information or deliberately hiding known-facts.
Preemption
The subject matter of the case should be dealt with at a state level or national level.
Procedural Defect
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.
Sufficiency of Scientific Evidence
A discussion on whether current scientific evidence is sufficient to justify the regulatory measures.

Type of Tobacco Product

None

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