On March 27th, the state of Minnesota (hereinafter referred to as "Minnesota") began selecting jurors for lawsuits against JUUL and Altria. This comes three years after Minnesota initially filed lawsuits against JUUL and Altria. The state has officially launched legal action against the companies.
The first case to enter the trial phase.
The state of Minnesota has added Altria Group Inc as a defendant in a lawsuit, alleging that the company played a role in JUUL Labs Inc's "deceptive and negligent conduct, causing public nuisance".
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has accused JUUL and Altria of engaging in "deceptive marketing practices targeted at youth.
In a press release, Ellison stated that "We will prove how JUUL and Altria deceived young people in Minnesota, causing them to purchase these products and resulting in significant harm to the public and the country's economy and health.
Since 2019, over a dozen states have sued JUUL, with Minnesota being the first case to enter the trial phase. Other states, such as Texas, have chosen to settle with JUUL and have reached a settlement agreement.
According to David Schultz, a law professor at the University of Minnesota, "The case boils down to three basic issues. First, whether JUUL marketed to minors. Second, whether they did anything to prevent minors from accessing their products. And third, whether they properly disclosed the health and safety risks associated with using e-cigarettes and some smokeless tobacco products.
According to the 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey conducted by the FDA and CDC, approximately 10% or over 2.5 million middle and high school students in the United States use electronic cigarettes. Nearly 85% of these individuals use flavored e-cigarettes. The issue of underage e-cigarette use is likely to become a focal point of this case.
Significant First Lawsuit
In 1998, the government of Minnesota filed a lawsuit against major tobacco companies in the United States, alleging they had long misled the public about the dangers of smoking in pursuit of financial gain, while disregarding public health. Minnesota successfully reached a settlement with these tobacco companies, receiving over $6.5 billion in settlement money.
Afterward, a historic settlement was reached between 46 state governments and the American tobacco company. The tobacco company agreed to pay $246 billion in settlement fees to compensate for smoking-related medical expenses and also agreed to adhere to stricter marketing regulations for the next few decades.
We know that there was a period where there was a decline in tobacco product use among minors, but when JUUL entered the market, there was a sharp increase in underage usage," said Schultz.
In response to these allegations, JUUL and Altria have denied them. In court documents filed in November 2022, they stated: "Over the past decade, Minnesota has received billions of dollars from tobacco settlements and taxes to prevent tobacco use and remedy its harms. However, the state has repeatedly chosen to disregard recommended tobacco prevention funding guidelines and instead has used these funds to support unrelated projects.
Schultz believes that this case has an impact not only on JUUL but also on a series of issues such as tobacco and marijuana legalization.
On March 27th, the court of Hennepping County began selecting jurors, with the trial expected to conclude on April 14th.
In the case of the Minnesota lawsuit, 2FIRSTS will continue to follow and report on developments. Stay tuned for updates.
For further reading, see:
JUUL has spent 18.2 billion in an effort to settle lawsuits. A review of the settlement amounts and conditions by state follows.
A US district court has approved a $255 million class-action settlement for Juul ahead of trial.
JUUL has settled lawsuits totaling $1.7 billion with 34 states.
Reference:
The trial for Minnesota's lawsuit against Juul and Altria is scheduled to begin on Monday.
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