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California High Court Revives Tobacco Case; Philip Morris USA Says Substantial Defenses RemainRichmond, Va.May 18, 2009 A divided California Supreme Court today reversed lower court rulings decertifying a class action against major tobacco manufacturers and sent the case back to the trial court to determine, among other things, whether the named plaintiffs could maintain the suit under standards announced in today's ruling. Philip Morris USA said that it retains many powerful defenses to these claims and will continue to defend the case vigorously. "We believe the California Supreme Court reached the wrong conclusion by requiring the trial court to reconsider whether this case can move forward as a class action," said Murray Garnick, Altria Client Services senior vice president and associate general counsel, speaking on behalf of Philip Morris USA. "We continue to have many significant defenses to both class certification and on the merits, and we believe this case should ultimately be dismissed," said Garnick. Today's decision overturned rulings from a trial judge and a unanimous decision from the state's intermediate appellate court refusing to allow the case to proceed as a class action. The lower courts held that class members could not establish standing under the 2004 California Proposition 64 voter initiative that amended the Unfair Competition Law. "Standing" is the traditional legal principle requiring a plaintiff who brings a lawsuit to establish harm as a result of the alleged wrongful conduct. The lower courts found that a class action was inappropriate because class members could not prove they all were exposed to and caused injury as a result of the defendants' advertising. The California Supreme Court today held that only the named plaintiffs need to establish standing by showing that they actually relied on the alleged deceptive conduct. The case, which began in 1997, had been based on claims that the nation's major cigarette manufacturers' advertising and promotion deceived class members about the health effects of smoking. # # # 
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