The tobacco industry won a major victory on May 23, 1996, when a federal appeals court did not grant class-action status to a lawsuit accusing the tobacco manufacturers of manipulating nicotine levels to keep smokers hooked and suppressing data that cigarettes are addictive.
The court determined that the tobacco firms would have faced judicial blackmail if the case proceeded as a class action. It would create "insurmountable pressure on defendants to settle...individuals trial would not," the court said.
The case can proceed with the four original plaintiffs.
