Iron Workers Local Union No. 17 Insurance Fund v. Philip Morris, Inc.
United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
182 F.R.D. 512 (1998)

- Written by Mary Phelan D'Isa, JD
Facts
Union trust funds (plaintiffs) filed a lawsuit against Philip Morris, Inc., and other major tobacco companies (defendants) for reimbursement for payments to treat smoking-related illnesses. The funds alleged that the tobacco companies wrongfully shifted the costs of treating smoking-related illnesses and to the funds. The funds did not join as plaintiffs the union members’ employers, the individual union members, or the insurers who made the payments (absentees). The tobacco companies filed a motion to dismiss for the funds’ failure to join necessary parties under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 19 and argued that the funds must join others who may have claims against the tobacco companies.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Gwin, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 824,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 989 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.