Juul’s legal woes have cost the company over US$2.5 billion in settlements.
Juul Labs reached a US$462 million settlement with six US states and the District of Columbia, to be paid over six years, resolving nearly all pending litigation against the e-cigarette maker.
New York, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Colorado, and New Mexico had sued the company in separate law suits alleging it marketed its products to minors and that the company failed to warn young users that the high levels of nicotine in their e-cigarettes would prove addictive.
Juul has reached settlements with 47 states and territories and 5,000 individuals and local governments; a trial is currently taking place in Minnesota, an unusual case where no settlement has been reached. The company is also facing lawsuits or open investigations by Florida, Michigan, Maine, and Alaska.
Last year, Juul agreed to pay US$1.7 billion to resolve more than 5,000 individual and local government entity lawsuits, as well as US$439 million to settle comparable lawsuits with 34 states and territories. Earlier this month the company settled claims by West Virginia for US$7.9 million.
According to The New York Times, company spokesperson Austin Finan said the company had not admitted wrongdoing in the latest agreement and that the settlement represents a near “total resolution of the company’s historical legal challenges and securing certainty for our future.”
Finan also said the usage of Juul products by minors had decreased by nearly 95%, citing federal data.
“The terms of the agreement, like prior settlements, provide financial resources to further combat underage use and develop cessation programs and reflect our current business practices,” Finan said.