In the latest step to hold the major tobacco companies accountable for decades of fraud on the American people, today the D.C. Circuit affirmed two lower court rulings in a long-running lawsuit the United States has pursued against the companies for more than a decade. In this round, the companies argued that the district court’s findings and remedies in connection with their 50-years of fraud should be set aside in light of the 2009 legislation which gave the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate cigarettes. Rejecting all of the defendants’ arguments, the D.C. Circuit ruled that the district court’s overwhelming findings of fraud supported the conclusion that misconduct will continue despite the new law. The Court also rejected the companies’ effort to restrict the tobacco marketing data that the Department of Justice may review to monitor the companies’ compliance with the Court’s ruling. We represent six public health organizations, including the American Cancer Society and Tobacco-Free Kids, who intervened in the suit to advocate for strong and effective remedies, and participated in both of the appeals resolved today. The two opinions are available here.
Created by the public interest law firm Meyer Glitzenstein & Crystal in Washington, D.C.
