For smokers recently diagnosed with a tobacco-related disease, it’s not too late to sue the tobacco industry.
The California Supreme Court unanimously rejected the industry’s claim Thursday that the statute of limitations for smokers filing claims for physical injury starts as soon as they discover they’re addicted to cigarettes — a rationale based on a previous 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision from 2002 that has road-blocked similar cases and, one plaintiffs attorney argued, probably deterred others from even filing at all.
