Australian smokers class action suit to go ahead
08/14/99
The Australian Federal Court has agreed to hear a class action brought by up to 60,000 Australian smokers against the big-three tobacco companies for negligence.
The cigarette companies had argued that there were too many differences between the medical histories of individual smokers for a class action to be mounted. However, Justice Murray Wilcox rejected the bid by Philip Morris, WD & HO Wills and Rothmans to strike out the class action that could result in billions of dollars in damages claims.
The trial is expected to go ahead next year.