Tobacco

Years of successful litigation

Collectively, the attorneys of RPWB bring decades of experience in tobacco litigation to the courtroom. Several RPWB attorneys played prominent roles in the nationwide litigation that led to a historic settlement between the Attorneys General of all 50 states and the tobacco industry to recover healthcare costs of smoking-related diseases.

Light means lethal

Since coming together at RPWB, the lawyers on the tobacco team have focused on one of the most pervasive frauds perpetuated by the tobacco industry: the false marketing of light cigarettes.

In Price v. Philip Morris, RPWB tobacco attorneys helped win a landmark $10.1 billion consumer fraud judgment against Philip Morris. This Illinois case was the first to hold a tobacco company accountable for decades of deceptive labeling of cigarettes as light or lowered tar. RPWB lawyers presented evidence that Philip Morris’ light brands were just as harmful, and in certain aspects, more harmful than its regular brands.

Within weeks of the verdict, Philip Morris declared it was removing the phrase "lowered tar and nicotine" from packages of its best-selling brand, Marlboro® Lights. At this time, RPWB has similar cases pending against—

• R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
• Brown & Williamson

For its work in Price v. Philip Morris, the entire RPWB tobacco team was nominated in 2003 for the Trial Lawyer of the Year Award by Trial Lawyers for Public Justice. In pursuing claims against the tobacco industry, RPWB attorneys have worked closely with the leading public health authorities and experts around the world. They bring skill, passion and dedication to the fight against the tobacco industry for its part in creating the great public health crisis of cigarette smoking.