Nationwide class action certified for smokers.

• Author: Sanders, Carol McHugh

In a ruling that could have major ramifications for the tobacco industry, a U.S. district court judge in the Eastern District of New York on September 19, 2002, certified a nationwide class of plaintiffs to pursue strictly punitive damages against tobacco companies. In re Simon H Litigation, 212 F.Supp.2d 57 (E.D.N.Y. 2002), confirmed and expanded as amended, U.S.Dist. Lexis 19773, reconsideration denied, 2002 U.S.Dist. Lexis 22920.

Judge Jack Weinstein certified the class as a way to avoid a bunch of trials across the country resulting in unrelated punitive damage judgments in what he described as "massive and complex litigation." The class certified includes all smokers in the United States who have been diagnosed since April 9, 1993, with any of more than a dozen specified smoking-related illnesses. Diseases covered by the order include lung cancer, mouth cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and emphysema.

The class also includes smokers who resided in...