The mark of a successful plaintiffs firm is the willingness and ability to go the distance. So say the leaders of St. Louis-based Korein Tillery, noting that they have been litigating the tobacco class action Price v. Philip Morris Inc. for about 13 years.
The case — which alleges that Philip Morris’ advertising of “low tar” cigarettes was deceptive — was all but dead in 2006 after the Illinois Supreme Court reversed a $10.1 billion trial verdict. But Korein Tillery attorneys seized a last-ditch opportunity to revive the case following a 2008 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that federal laws against deceptive cigarette advertising did not pre-empt state laws. The legal road since has remained bumpy, but the firm this month will argue in a state appellate court that the 2003 trial verdict should be reinstated.
