Center for Public Health Litigation

PHAI President Richard Daynard Explains the Importance of Punitive Damages Awards in The Hill

Northeastern University Distinguished Professor of Law and President of the Public Health Advocacy Institute, Richard Daynard, published an op-ed in The Hill on December 6, 2022 laying out the importance of punitive damages in civil justice to protect public health. The article references a billion dollar punitive damages verdict in a Massachusetts tobacco case from […]

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PHAI’s Gottlieb Discusses Recent Juul Settlement

On September 6, 2022, attorneys general from 33 states announced a tentative settlement of their joint investigation of the company involving cash payments to the states of $438.5 million over several years. PHAI’s executive director, Mark Gottlieb, discussed the settlement on NBC News NOW the following morning. That short interview can be seen here.

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PHAI Takes Action Against Puff Bar for Violating Massachusetts’ Ban on Flavored e-Cigarettes

CONTACTS: Mark Gottlieb                                                             Meredith Lever(617) 216-0779                                                            (617) 373-8066mark@phaionline.org                                          meredith@phaionline.org  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  Puff Bar Charged With Violating Massachusetts’ Ban on Flavored e-CigarettesIn direct violation of state law, Puff Bar sells flavored, disposable e-cigarettes that appeal to teens  BOSTON, MA (June 11, 2020) – Today, the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI) at Northeastern University School of Law

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New Lawsuit Alleges Coca-Cola, American Beverage Association Deceiving Public About Soda-Related Health Problems

Despite the scientifically established link between consuming sugar drinks and obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease, the Coca-Cola Company and its trade association, the American Beverage Association, deceive consumers by denying and obscuring soda’s link to those diseases, according to a lawsuit filed today. Bringing the action filed today in the Superior Court of

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Snowflakes Are Found in 84 Degree Richmond: The 2017 Altria Group Annual Shareholders Meeting

By Edward L. Sweda, Jr., PHAI Senior Attorney As I approached the Greater Richmond Convention Center on the partly cloudy morning of Thursday, May 18, 2017, thoughts of sub-freezing temperatures and snowstorms never entered my mind.  But, before the morning gave way to the afternoon, I realized that I had just seen dozens of snowflakes. As

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PHAI Joins Center for Science in the Public Interest in Filing Lawsuit Against Coca-Cola for Deceptive Marketing

BOSTON – Two non-profits that use litigation as a public health strategy have joined forces in a lawsuit accusing the Coca-Cola Company (“Coke”) along with the American Beverage Association (“ABA”) of misleading the public about the science that links heart disease, obesity, and diabetes to consumption of sugary beverages. For years, the Public Health Advocacy

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PHAI’s Daynard Discusses Tony Gwynn Lawsuit on ESPN and in the New York Times

On May 23, 2016, the widow and children of baseball great Tony Gwynn filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Altria Group alleging that the manufacturers of Skoal smokeless tobacco’s negligence, fraud, defective design, and failure-to-warn caused the death of the Hall of Famer in 2014. Richard Daynard, PHAI’s president and University Distinguished Professor of Law at

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May 5, 2016 – a RAIny day in Winston-Salem

By Edward L. Sweda, Jr.          When Reynolds American International (RAI) President and CEO Susan M. Cameron told the company’s 2016 annual shareholders meeting that it is “always a pleasure to report good news,” this shareholder was reminded of a similar message: “Alive with Pleasure.”  That ubiquitous advertising slogan for Newport cigarettes

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