Selection of 12 jurors in the trial is expected to be completed by the end of the day, and opening arguments in this first bellwether trial, brought against Altria on behalf of the San Francisco Unified School District, will commence Monday April 24
On Friday, April 21, 2023, jury selection will take place before the Honorable William H. Orrick in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Altria faces charges relating to its contributions to the student vaping health crisis in San Francisco and of conspiring with JUUL Labs to defraud the public and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding JUUL products and teen health, including predatory and deceptive marketing of inherently defective and dangerous products to young Americans nationwide.
Lieff Cabraser partner Sarah R. London, who serves as Court-appointed Co-Lead Counsel for Plaintiffs in the nationwide multidistrict Juul e-cigarette fraud and injury litigation, will lead jury selection for the plaintiffs.
Plaintiffs defeated Altria’s attempts to get the case dismissed via summary judgment earlier this month, and the trial over vaping misrepresentation, false and predatory advertising, and teen addiction will begin with opening arguments on Monday, April 24th. Per Judge Orrick’s instuctions, the public may listen to audio of the trial via this zoom link and authentication information:
https://cand-uscourts.zoomgov.com/j/1611812513?pwd=anFJWCtUaHVhY2RYLzNtVDMxU3NVQT09
Webinar ID: 161 181 2513
Password: 478314
The trial will generally be in session each weekday from 8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., although this may vary from day to day as directed by the Court.
The bellwether also includes claims for Altria’s failure to warn users about Juul dangers, negligence in the manufacture, labeling, and promotion of its highly addictive products, and improperly enticing youths to consume e-cigarettes so as to build a new generational market of nicotine-addicted consumers. Sarah London will be assisted through jury selection and trial by Lieff Cabraser partners Andrew Kaufman and Reilly Stoler, and associate attorneys Caitlin Woods, Jenna Forster, and Nick Lee.
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