A California federal judge said Friday he is likely to certify classes of direct and indirect purchasers accusing Juul Labs Inc. and Altria Group Inc. of antitrust violations, finding that the plaintiffs share sufficient common issues even though Altria warned that class certification could create a “Frankenstein’s monster” of conflicting state damages laws.
U.S. District Judge William Orrick told the parties during a Zoom hearing that he had issued a tentative ruling favoring certification but would hold off on a final decision until addressing several remaining questions. The motion seeks to certify both indirect purchaser and indirect reseller classes who allege Juul and Altria conspired to reduce competition and limit e-cigarette product variety after Altria’s $12.8 billion investment in Juul in 2018.
Judge Orrick said a written order will follow.
Altria Argues Class Certification Would Create a “Frankenstein’s Monster”
Representing Altria, James Rosenthal of Wilkinson Stekloff LLP urged the court not to certify the proposed classes, citing the patchwork of state antitrust laws among the 31 states involved. He said that while California’s Cartwright Act automatically triples damages, other states do not, creating potential inconsistency and unfairness in damage awards.
Rosenthal also objected to the idea of bifurcating the trial—holding one phase for liability and another for damages—arguing that doing so would double the work for defense experts and lead to logistical chaos.

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