A federal judge has permitted both adult and underage individuals who have purchased Juul e-cigarettes to file a collective lawsuit, demanding compensation from the company for deceptive marketing practices.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge William Orrick certified four groups, consisting of adults and minors both nationwide and in California, but rejected arguments made by Juul and its largest shareholder, tobacco giant Altria Group Inc., stating that the potential members of the collective were too diverse to bring a lawsuit for their claims together.
These class-action lawsuits do not accuse the product of causing bodily harm, but rather demand a refund of the money spent on purchasing Juul products.
The above is part of the multi-district litigation being handled by Orrick, which includes personal injury claims and lawsuits brought by local governments and school districts alleging that Juul fueled an epidemic of youth addiction.
Lawyers for plaintiffs Juul and Altria did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The economic loss claims allege that Juul downplayed the addictive nature of its products and, had it not been for deceptive marketing, consumers would not have purchased these products or would have spent less money on them.
Juul argues that they should not be classified as a class-action lawsuit because different consumers were exposed to different advertisements, and some individuals became addicted while others did not.
However, Orrick believes that these differences are "largely immaterial under the legal theory being asserted.
Under pressure from regulators, Juul removed popular flavors such as mango and cucumber from retail stores in 2018 and closed its social media channels on Instagram and Facebook.
Earlier this month, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ordered the removal of all Juul e-cigarettes from the market, but this decision was temporarily halted by the federal appeals court.
Juul has agreed to pay over $87 million to settle charges related to its marketing of products to minors with four states.
Source: Reuters
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