The Philip Morris Companies asked a Medina County Common Pleas Judge yesterday to dismiss a suit against them by a Seville woman who says the company lied about the tar and nicotine levels in their cigarettes.

The class action suit filed by Catherine S. Marrone alleges that the tobacco companies made false misrepresentations about Virginia Slims Lights in its advertisements. She claims the defendants misled smokers as to the health risks of smoking light cigarettes. She claims she was not told that the cigarette makers rigged tests to measure tar and nicotine to obtain favorable readings. Marrone states in the suit she has purchased and consumed a half a pack of Virginia Slims Lights cigarettes every day for about nine years. She is not claiming a personal injury case. She is seeking a refund of the money that Ohio consumers spent on the cigarettes and damages under the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act. The Philip Morris Companies, the defendants in the case, asked Judge James J. Kimbler to dismiss the case because the complaint does not state a cause of action. They also claim the suit should be dropped based on a similar suit filed in Franklin County Common Pleas Court. In that suit, a dismissal was granted because the judge ruled the consumers did not suffer any economic harm as a result of purchasing the cigarettes. Judge Kimbler gave the plaintiffs another week to respond to the dismissal claims. If the judge grants the dismissal, the plaintiffs could take the case to the Court of Appeals. If the judge overrules the defense motion to dismiss the suit the court will have to determine how to identify who would belong in the class, how to notify the class and how many people would become a part of the class action suit.

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