Philip Morris Companies, Inc., a Corporation and Philip Morris Incorporated, a Corporation, Appellants v. Wayne…

Summary

The court affirmed certification of a class alleging that Philip Morris deceptively marketed Marlboro Lights as safer and lower in tar and nicotine. It held that the alleged misrepresentation was a common issue that predominated over individualized questions about smoking behavior, reliance, causation, damages, and defenses; those individual matters could be addressed later through bifurcation if necessary. The court also held that a class action was superior and that the class definition was ascertainable without requiring purchase receipts. Justice Hart, dissenting, would have denied certification because actual damages, superiority, and ascertainability required individualized inquiries.