United States Second Circuit

In an action challenging the district court's certification of a class consisting of cigarette smokers who were allegedly deceived into believing that "light" cigarettes were healthier than "full-flavored" cigarettes, judgment and class certification are reversed where: 1) the class was not maintainable under Fed. Rule of Civ. Proc. 23(b)(3) as individual issues outweighed issues susceptible to common proof; and 2) the number of questions remaining for individual adjudication after an issue certification would not "reduce the range of issues in dispute and promote judicial economy".

Appellate Information

• Decided 04/03/2008
• Published 04/03/2008

Judges

• JOHN M. WALKER, JR., Circuit Judge:, Before: WINTER, WALKER, and POOLER, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Second Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Harvey Kurzweil, Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP, New York, N.Y. (Matthew L. DiRisio and Emilie B. Cooper, Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP, New York, N.Y., on the brief), for Amicus Curiae Citizens' Commission To Protect the Truth., John H. Beisner, O'Melveny & Myers LLP, Washington, D.C. (Jessica Davidson Miller and Charles E. Borden, O'Melveny & Myers LLP, Washington, D.C., Hugh F. Young, Jr., Product Liability Advisory Council, Inc., Reston, VA, on the brief), for Amicus Curiae Product Liability Advisory Council, Inc., Alan E. Untereiner, Robbins, Russell, Englert, Orseck & Untereiner LLP, Washington, D.C., (Matthew R. Segal, Russell, Englert, Orseck & Untereiner LLP, Washington, D.C., Robin S. Conrad and Amar D. Sarwal, National Chamber Litigation Center, Washington, D.C., on the brief), for Amicus Curiae Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America., Richard A. Daynard, Northeastern University School of Law, Boston, MA (Christopher N. Banthin, Public Health Advocacy Institute, Inc., Boston, MA, on the brief), for Amici Curiae Tobacco Control Resource Center Division of the Public Health Institute, Inc., and the Tobacco Control Legal Consortium.


• For Appellees:
  
• Theodore M. Grossman, Jones Day, Cleveland, OH (Robert H. Klonoff and Mark A. Belasic, Jones Day, Cleveland, OH, Todd R. Geremia, Jones Day, New York, N.Y., Murray R. Garnick, Judith Bernstein-Gaeta, and James M. Rosenthal, Arnold & Porter LLP, Washington, D.C., David M. Bernick, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Chicago, IL, Guy Miller Struve, Frances E. Bivens, and Phineas E. Leahey, Davis Polk & Wardwell, New York, N.Y., Gregory M. Loss, Thomas E. Riley, and Joseph G. Falcone, Chadbourne & Parke LLP, New York, N.Y., Alan Mansfield and Stephen L. Saxl, Greenberg Traurig, LLP, New York, N.Y., William L. Allinder, Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP, Kansas City, MO, Aaron H. Marks, Leonard A. Feiwus, and Julie R. Fischer, Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP, New York, N.Y., on the brief), for Defendants-Appellants., Michael D. Hausfeld, Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C., Washington, D.C. (Benjamin D. Brown, James J. Pizzirusso, Brent W. Landau, Andrea L. Hertzfeld, Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C., Washington, D.C., Burton H. Finkelstein and Richard M. Volin, Finkelstein, Thompson & Loughran, Washington, D.C., on the brief), for Plaintiffs-Appellees.