Judge in San Diego Decertifies Brown Class Action

San Diego Superior Court Judge Ronald S. Prager has decertified the Brown class action after finding that the November 2004 voter referendum known as Proposition 64 applied to the case. Proposition 64 modified California's Unfair Competition and False Advertising Law by mandating that the only private plaintiffs with standing to prosecute such statutory claims are those who have suffered injury in fact and lost money or property as a result of the defendant's alleged conduct.

"We believe the judge’s ruling was appropriate in light of the law, and should dispose of the case," said William S. Ohlemeyer, Philip Morris USA vice president and associate general counsel.

The case, which began in 1997, had been based on claims that the nation’s major cigarette manufacturers’ advertising and promotion targeted minors and deceived smokers into purchasing "Light" cigarettes. The court dismissed those claims in November 2004.

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