Canadian appeal court rules in favour of big tobacco

24th Jul 2015 08:44

(ShareCast News) - A Canadian court has ruled subsidiaries of three major tobacco companies don't need to immediately deposit more than $1bn for a class action law suit. The Quebec Court of Appeal ruled British American Tobacco, Philip Morris International and Japan Tobacco International should not have to put potential damages in trust for members of a class action law suit.A provisional execution order for the deposit was imposed by a lower court as part of CAD$15.6bn judgment in two class action suits.In a statement, Imperial Tobacco Canada said that given the deposit issue is out of the way, it will focus on the original case.The company is arguing that adult consumers and governments have known about the risks associated with smoking for decades.