Replies to post #1376 on Altria Group Inc (MO)

[EZ2]

MO ~~~ Court Rules Against Philip Morris
Monday June 11, 10:16 am ET
Justices Say Company Cannot Move Case to Federal Court

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court ruled Monday that Philip Morris Cos. Inc. cannot move a lawsuit by cigarette smokers into federal court.
The unanimous decision came in a case that consumers filed against the cigarette company in state court in Arkansas.

Philip Morris moved the case to federal court in Little Rock, Ark., saying it could do so because the company was pervasively regulated by the Federal Trade Commission.

The court said the fact that a federal agency directs a company's activities does not permit removing the case to federal court.

The potential for large damage awards from state court juries makes the federal court system a more desirable place for tobacco companies and other defendants sued in class-action cases.

Consumers who smoked Marlboro Lights and Cambridge Lights alleged Philip Morris violated the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The company fraudulently marketed "light" cigarettes as having less tar and nicotine, the suit stated.

The company allegedly designed the cigarettes to register lower levels of tar and nicotine in government-approved testing than would be delivered to the consuming public.

[EZ2]

UPDATE 1-US top court rules against Philip Morris
Mon Jun 11, 2007 10:20 AM ET

(adds details, paragraphs three to end)

WASHINGTON, June 11 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday that a class-action lawsuit against Philip Morris USA, a unit of Altria Group Inc. <MO.N>, should not be decided in federal court, handing a defeat to the tobacco company.

The justices unanimously reversed a ruling that allowed Philip Morris to transfer the lawsuit to federal court from the Arkansas state court where it initially was filed.

At issue is a suit filed against Philip Morris by two Arkansas women alleging that the company engaged in unfair business practices in marketing its low-tar Cambridge Lights and Marlboro Lights cigarette brands.

Companies facing class-action lawsuits typically prefer to have those cases litigated in federal courts, where they usually fare better than in state courts.

Philip Morris succeeded in having the case moved to federal court, saying it was appropriate because cigarette advertisements had been regulated by a U.S. agency -- the Federal Trade Commission.

The move was subsequently upheld by a federal appeals court in St. Louis. The U.S. Justice Department told the Supreme Court that the appeals court's ruling should be overturned.

The Supreme Court agreed and reversed the ruling in an opinion written by Justice Stephen Breyer.

Breyer said the fact that a federal regulatory agency directs, supervises and monitors a company's activities in considerable detail does not bring that company under the scope of the law that permits removal to federal court.

[NovoMira]

Howdy EZ...appears the ruling hasn't affected MO's PPS that much, thankfully.

OT...do you think Google is over-reaching in their suit against Microsoft???