Altria Group Inc.
Robbins LLP served as additional counsel to the federal plaintiffs in this coordinated litigation on behalf of Altria Group Inc. wherein plaintiffs alleged that Altria’s $12.8 billion investment in Juul Labs, Inc. undermined the Company’s hard-fought reputational progress with regulators and lawmakers after decades of marketing tobacco products and funding misleading research about the harmful effects of smoking. Altria’s investment in JLI was fundamentally troubling as it indicated that the largest tobacco company in the U.S. – a Company that claimed to be committed to youth tobacco use prevention – was willing to invest significant funds in a company whose irresponsible actions played an outsized role in capitalizing on and accelerating the youth vaping epidemic.
After a yearlong negotiation, Robbins LLP was instrumental in achieving a hard-fought settlement that required multiple mediations, months of continued discussions, informal mediation conferences, and extensive document review of over 35 million pages. When achieved, the settlement contemplated a comprehensive and global resolution of the actions. As a result of the settlement, Altria committed to funding $117 million over five years, with a minimum spend of $20 million each year to address policy and governance measures relating to youth prevention and transaction oversight that may include: (i) positive youth development programs; (ii) smoking and vaping cessation treatment; and (iii) point of sale age verification technology.
In re Altria Group, Inc. Derivative Litigation, No: 3:20cv772(DJN) (E.D. VA, Feb. 20, 2023)