CONCORD, N.H. -- Last week, the New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled 3-0 against proceeding with the class-action lawsuit Lawrence v. Philip Morris USA Inc. The decision overturns a 2010 order by Merrimack County Superior Court Judge Larry Smukler which certified a class of smokers seeking refunds for Marlboro Lights cigarettes they smoked, claiming that the company misled them on the safety of "light" cigarettes.
"The court recognized correctly that there are too many individual issues for this case to be treated as a class action," spokesperson Murray Garnick said in a press statement issued by Philip Morris USA parent Altria Group Inc., Richmond, Va.
In the ruling, the New Hampshire’s Supreme Court held that the state could not assume that everyone who purchased Marlboro Lights was uninformed that light cigarettes could be as dangerous as regular brands, as "between 1976 and 1995 informed consumers that light cigarettes were no less harmful than regular cigarettes."
Based on this information, the high court ruled that "the trial court unsustainably exercised its discretion when it ruled that issues related to individual class members' injuries could be resolved by common evidence and that common issues would predominate."
It added, "This court joins 15 courts which have rejected these cases on a variety of legal and factual grounds."
With two other active state "lights" cases remaining, analysts at New York City-based Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. said that they believe Lawrence represents a significant win for PM USA, releasing a report on the ruling entitled "Lights down low...Interpreting two key trials."
"We see Lawrence as especially significant in its directness, cutting right at the heart of the class certification issue, which creates the real financial risk in these cases, but is one of industry's core and increasingly successful arguments," senior analyst Andrew Kieley said in the report.
Due to the reversal of the class-action certification order, Lawrence has been remanded to the Merrimack County Superior Court, where it will proceed as an individual lawsuit.
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