Castano v. American Tobacco Co.
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
84 F.3d 734 (1996)
Relevant factsFree
Castano (plaintiff) sought to represent a nationwide class of millions of nicotine-addicted individuals against American Tobacco and other tobacco companies (defendants), alleging the companies knowingly concealed nicotine's addictive properties and manipulated nicotine levels to boost demand; the district court certified the class under a four-stage litigation plan separating core liability, individual causation and reliance issues, compensatory damages, and punitive damages. The defendants appealed the certification.
IssueFree
Whether the complexity and novelty of a proposed nationwide class action can be sufficient grounds to reverse class certification.
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