A federal appeals court snuffed out an $800 billion class-action lawsuit by smokers who claim tobacco companies duped them into believing light cigarettes pose less health danger than regular smokes.
The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Brooklyn reversed a 2006 ruling allowing 50 million light cigarette smokers to team up against the tobacco companies.
The appeals-court judges found that smokers can’t be lumped into one large group because individuals have their own reasons for choosing cigarettes and deciding whether to keep up the habit.
A lawyer for the tobacco companies hailed the ruling as “a complete victory on every ground that we raised.”