Illinois Supreme Court again rejects $10B cigarette verdict

State Journal Register reports:

A divided Illinois Supreme Court has again rejected a $10.1 billion class-action judgment against Philip Morris over its past efforts to market "low-tar" and "light" cigarettes as healthier alternatives.

The 4-2 ruling, released Wednesday, vacates a 2014 decision by the state's 5th District Appellate Court to reinstate a 2003 verdict by a county trial court in the southwestern part of the state. The Illinois Supreme Court first overturned the Madison County court's decision in 2005.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of hundreds of thousands of Illinois smokers, was one of the nation's first to accuse a tobacco company of consumer fraud. It claimed that Philip Morris deceptively marketed "light" and "low-tar" Marlboro cigarettes as a healthier alternative. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration now bars cigarette makers from labeling their products with such terms.

Wednesday's ruling still allows the plaintiffs to directly appeal to the state Supreme Court to reinstate the award.

Madison County verdicts in the news.