United States Fourth Circuit

On challenge to defendant secretary's implementation of the Fair and Equitable Tobacco Reform Act of 2004, dismissal of complaint for lack of standing is affirmed as plaintiffs abandoned any right to challenge defendant's calculations when they assigned their buyout contracts to third parties.

Appellate Information

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

Judges

• Before NIEMEYER and SHEDD, Circuit Judges, and LEONIE M. BRINKEMA, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia, sitting by designation.

Court

• United States Fourth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• ARGUED:  Daniel S. Haltiwanger, Richardson, Patrick, Westbrook & Brickman, L.L.C., Barnwell, South Carolina, for Appellants.  R. Hewitt Pate, Hunton & Williams, Richmond, Virginia;  Sarang Damle, United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., for Appellees. ON BRIEF:  Daniel H. Caldwell, Cameron Scott Bell, Penn, Stuart & Eskridge, Abingdon, Virginia, for Appellants.  Peter D. Keisler, Assistant Attorney General, John L. Brownlee, United States Attorney, Mark B. Stern, Eric J. Feigin, United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., for Federal Appellees.   Lonnie D. Nunley, III, Kevin C. Walsh, Carrie B. Freed, Hunton & Williams, Richmond, Virginia;  Larry B. Sitton, Gregory G. Holland, Jonathan P. Heyl, Smith Moore, L.L.P., Greensboro, North Carolina, for Appellee Philip Morris USA, Incorporated.