Prior Ruling Doesn't Apply In Light Cigarette MDL: Judge

By Julie Zeveloff

Law360, New York (March 10, 2010, 1:54 PM ET) -- In a major blow to plaintiffs accusing Philip Morris USA Inc. of fraudulently marketing its light cigarettes, a federal judge has refused to let them apply the findings of a landmark 2006 decision to the current case.

In an order issued Friday, Judge John A. Woodcock Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine denied the plaintiffs' motion for collateral estoppel, finding that while their argument had an “undeniable attractiveness,” they failed sufficiently establish the criteria for nonmutual issue preclusion.

The plaintiffs in...
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