After Long Battle in Brown v. The American Tobacco Co., Defendant Prevails Where Plaintiffs Failed to Establish Actual Damages

Following the trial of a tobacco false advertising case dating back to 1997, a California court found that, although the defendant misrepresented to consumers the health benefits of its Marlboro Lights cigarettes, the Plaintiffs were entitled to no relief as they failed to prove entitlement to any of the limited remedies available under California’s Unfair Competition Law.

The court in Brown v. The American Tobacco Co., Inc., et al., Case No. 711400 (San Diego Superior Court Sept. 24, 2013) emphasized and underscored that restitution under California  law does not allow plaintiffs to recover “benefit of the bargain damages.”  Brown, at 11.  Instead, restitution reimburses consumers only for the difference between the value paid and the actual value of the product received.  Id.  Plaintiffs failed to show their entitlement to restitution under California law because, among other reasons, their proffered evidence improperly focused on consumers’ perceived value of the misrepresented health attributes without considering the actual market value of the entire product absent the misrepresented attribute, i.e., the product plaintiffs received.  

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