“Juul Labs Inc. has the Mafia to thank for the most potent legal claims accusing the e-cigarette maker of igniting an epidemic of youth nicotine addiction. The company will try to persuade a federal judge Monday that consumers and school districts can’t sue it under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, which has been called “the litigation equivalent of a thermonuclear device.” The 1970 law was originally designed to prosecute organized crime but has also been used in civil lawsuits, including against tobacco companies. If Juul fails to get the RICO claims knocked out of the lawsuits at the earliest opportunity, it faces the prospect of being on the hook for triple damages and the plaintiffs’ attorneys fees, which is likely to put a lot more pressure on the company to settle. Juul, its founders and Altria Group Inc., which owns a 35% stake in Juul, face hundreds of suits that have been consolidated in federal court in San Francisco and in California state court in Los Angeles.”
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Juul’s Defense of Marketing E-Cigarettes to Youth Targets Use of Organized Crime Law
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