Smokers' suit gets class-action status

NEW YORK — In a blow to the tobacco industry, a federal judge ruled Monday that a jury should decide whether tobacco companies must pay tens of millions of smokers up to $200 billion for allegedly duping them into buying light cigarettes over the past three decades.

U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein granted class-action status to a lawsuit against Philip Morris USA, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco and other cigarette manufacturers.

"The plaintiffs are entitled to the chance to prove their allegations," Weinstein said. The judge set a trial date of Jan. 22, 2007.

The suit, filed in 2004, alleges the tobacco companies responded to consumers' mounting health concerns with a marketing scheme to promote light cigarettes as a lower-risk alternative to regular cigarettes, even though their own internal documents showed they knew the risks were about the same.

Smokers' attorney Michael Hausfeld said the decision could clear the way for one of the largest class-action cases ever, both in number of plaintiffs and amount of damages. He estimated the class — consisting of anyone who purchased cigarettes that were labeled "light" or "lights" after they were put on the market in the early 1970s — could number up to 60 million.

"It's an extremely significant ruling," he said.

The cigarette makers said they would appeal. They prefer trying each case on its own.

"We obviously disagree with the ruling — strongly," said Theodore Grossman, an attorney for R.J. Reynolds. "The law doesn't support class certification."

In Monday's ruling, Weinstein said the class certification was necessary because "no individual can afford to prosecute the case alone." Any flaws in the case, he added, were outweighed by the need to put it before a jury.

An analysis by plaintiffs' expert witnesses concluded more than 90 percent of the smokers in the potential class purchased light cigarettes over the past three decades based on health concerns, as opposed to taste or other factors.