Barnes v. American Tobacco Co.

161 F.3d 127 (1998)

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Barnes v. American Tobacco Co.

United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
161 F.3d 127 (1998)

Facts

A group of Pennsylvania smokers (the smokers) (plaintiffs) filed a proposed class action against numerous major tobacco companies (defendants). Alleging negligence, intentional tort, and strict-liability theories, the smokers claimed that the tobacco companies had caused the smokers to suffer increased risks of three major diseases: lung cancer, heart disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. As damages, the smokers sought free medical monitoring for these three possible diseases. The district court conditionally certified a mandatory class under Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(2). Upon the tobacco companies’ request for reconsideration of the certification order, the district court found that three determinations would need to be made in the case: (1) a member’s addiction, (2) a member’s need for medical monitoring, and (3) the tobacco companies’ affirmative defenses of comparative negligence and assumption of the risk. The district court then decertified the class, finding that these determinations required resolving too many individual questions. The smokers appealed the decertification ruling to the Third Circuit.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Scirica, J.)

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