A dispute between neighbors is headed to the courtroom as they quarrel over cigarette smoke wafting over one backyard fence into an Albuquerque couple’s house. The nuisance lawsuit pits one woman’s right to smoke against her neighbors’ right to breathe clean air. The Martinezes have called a house in the North Valley their home since 1962, and it’s where they plan to retire. For the past two years, Linda Garcia has lived in the building right behind them, and the Martinezes say when she smokes in her back yard, they have to breathe it. Charles Lakins, lawyer for the Mar ... Jump to full article >>

A 60-year-old Vaiden woman has won $150,000 in a lawsuit against Wal-Mart after a federal jury found she was fired because of her age. The Wal-Mart in Winona terminated Minnie L. Coker from her cashier’s job in 2005 based on a claim that she had sold tobacco to a minor. Coker was given a ticket for the offense that purportedly came from the attorney general’s office, but that document was fabricated, according to her attorney, Jim Waide of Tupelo. Justice court records didn’t show any ticket had ever been issued, he said. “It just appeared that was all made up,” Waide said. Also, Wal ... Jump to full article >>

Some years ago, in the heyday of cigarette smuggling, I found myself in a speedboat bouncing on the St. Lawrence River at 65 mph, heading to the Akwesasne Indian reserve that straddles the Canada-U.S. border. Behind the wheel was a young French Canadian named Pierre, who described himself as a mid-size player in a billion dollar game. He smuggled 275 cases of cigarettes a week, each case filled with 50 cartons of smokes. In six months, he had made $100,000. (Note: Money in this story is in Canadian dollars.) He set up our first meeting in a raunchy strip bar in Sainte Barbe, a small Quebec tow ... Jump to full article >>

National Cigarette and Health Committee (SSUK) legal advisor Turgut Kazan has announced that tobacco manufacturers PhilSA, Philip MorrisSA and British American Tobacco (BAT) have filed a lawsuit with the Council of State to shrink the mandatory size of new graphic images which will be obligatory to print on cigarette packages starting on Jan. 1, 2010. The companies complain that the requirement of putting images on the front of cigarette packages in an attempt to reduce tobacco consumption by exposing the adverse consequences of smoking will prevent competition in the sector. The images necess ... Jump to full article >>

“We were advised by counsel late yesterday that RJ Reynolds Tobacco (RJR) had filed a Motion for Attorneys Fees and Excess Costs, as well as a Bill of Costs, with the US District Court for Maryland. We believe that this action by RJR in moving for attorneys fees, after a full trial on the merits, is completely frivolous and vexatious. The District Court has not yet ruled on the company’s Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law or, in the Alternative, a New Trial and no final judgment has been entered in the case. The premature timing of the motion for fees and costs therefore, makes ... Jump to full article >>

Possible class action over secondhand smoke follows similar case against Harrah’s Entertainment A Wynn Las Vegas employee recently sued the resort, claiming it is an unsafe workplace due to secondhand smoke. But some in the gaming industry doubt Las Vegas casinos will go smoke free anytime soon. The federal lawsuit filed Oct. 20 seeks class action status and alleges the casino encouraged patrons to light up and disciplined workers if they complained. The court filing accuses Wynn of breaching its duty to provide a safe workplace for employees and seeks damages of more than $5 million. Wy ... Jump to full article >>

SAN FRANCISCO — The nation’s largest tobacco company agreed Thursday to drop its legal challenge to San Francisco’s ban on tobacco sales in pharmacies. Lawyers for the Richmond, Va. -based Philip Morris USA Inc. filed a stipulation of dismissal in federal court in Oakland, agreeing to end a lawsuit that claimed the San Francisco law violated its free speech rights. The action comes after a federal appeals court in San Francisco upheld the law on Sept. 9, affirming a decision in which U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken of Oakland last year refused to issue a preliminary injun ... Jump to full article >>

As Americans, we value many things and among those things that we cherish is the First Amendment, which guarantees us the right to free speech, along with other important freedoms. That is why we are supporting a lawsuit filed by some of the nation’s largest tobacco companies claiming that restrictions in federal law violate their freedom of speech. Bowling Green-based Commonwealth Brands and other companies, including R.J. Reynolds, are challenging the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which prohibits tobacco companies from giving truthful information to adult customer ... Jump to full article >>

Caesars, parent named in lawsuit A dealer who spent two decades at Caesars Palace has sued the Strip resort and parent company Harrah’s Entertainment in federal court claiming that exposure to secondhand smoke forced her to quit her casino job. In a lawsuit that attorneys are seeking to have certified as a class action case, former blackjack dealer Tomo Stephens claimed Caesars Palace isn’t doing enough to protect its workers from the dangers of secondhand smoke. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas, contends Caesars Palace, since being acquired by Harr ... Jump to full article >>