Here’s the latest from the Associated Press about a new California Supreme Court case allowing a false advertising case against the tobacco industry to proceed and clarifying guidelines for future cases:

The California Supreme Court has revived a class action lawsuit against the tobacco industry alleging its advertisements misled consumers into believing some cigarettes were less harmful than others.

The
4-3 decision Monday reverses two lower court rulings that barred the
consumer lawsuit because of the 2004 passage of Proposition 64. The
voter-approved initiative says only consumers claiming they lost money
or property can file such class actions.

In its ruling Monday,
the high court says the proposition was intended to bar frivolous
lawsuits, not to stop those seeking legitimate consumer protections. It
ordered a trial court judge to reconsider the case. 

Consumer Watchdog filed a friend of the court brief in the case that was cited in the final opinion. You can read a more detailed legal analysis of the case here.   Yesterday’s Los Angeles Times reported on the bigger war against consumer class action cases in California with comments from Consumer Watchdog founder Harvey Rosenfield.  You can read that article here.