Altria (MO) is asking the US Supreme Court to dismiss a class action lawsuit by Maine smokers who say they were misled into believing that “low tar” and “light” cigarettes are a healthier alternative to regular cigarettes.
The smokers filed suit against Philip Morris USA and its parent company, Altria, charging that the companies engaged in a decades-long fraud on Maine smokers in violation of state laws against deceptive business practices.
Altria is arguing that its products are regulated by federal law and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), not the State of Maine. Earlier, a Federal Judge agreed and dismissed the smokers’ suit then the First US Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston reinstated the action, ruling that the state lawsuit is not preempted by federal law.
On Monday, the dispute, Altria Group v. Stephanie Good comes before the US Supreme Court, where the justices will decide whether the Maine suit can proceed to trial or must be dismissed because it intrudes into the exclusive realm of a federal regulatory agency, the FTC.
Under Chief Justice Roberts, the court has previously proven sympathetic to similar pro-business preemption arguments. Last February, for instance, the court in Riegel v. Medtronic concluded that a federal statute blocked state lawsuits over certain medical devices.
“A general common-law duty (not to deceive) can be preempted by a specific statute,” Roberts noted pointedly Monday. Also, Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy told the attorney for the smokers, “I have difficulty in accepting your position in this entire case.”
Altria argues the case falls under the “Labeling Act” which directed how cigarette could label their products and thus the suit has no merit. They are right. They labeled their products based on FTC guidelines. If anything, the smokers ought to go after the FTC, as the justices angrily said to the FTC during the hearing “you created this mess”.
The Supreme Court will rule in the case by July 2009
Disclosure (“none” means no position):Long MO
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