A U.S. District Court in California has rejected a case brought by Altria Group vape subsidiary NJOY against numerous disposable vape makers, distributors, and retailers. The lawsuit against IMiracle, the maker of elf bars, was not dismissed by the court.
The case was filed in October of last year and accused the corporations of selling goods that were unlawful in California and the US. It also demanded that NJOY be awarded punitive and compensatory damages as well as a countrywide injunction that would stop the products from being imported or sold in the future.
Manufacturers and distributors of Breeze, Elf Bar, Esco Bar, Flum, Juice Box, Lava Plus, Loon, Lost Mary, Mr. Fog, and Puff Bar—brands that collectively account for a sizable share of the disposable vape industry in the United States—were among the businesses fined.
Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California issued the dismissal decision on January 18. The defendants were wrongly joined in the complaint, according to the court, because they were not involved in "the same transaction, occurrence, or series of transactions or occurrences." Judge Hatter dismissed all parties from the lawsuit as a result, except IMiracle, the first listed defendant.
Formerly regarded as a pioneer in the independent vaping sector, NJOY is currently the vape division of Altria Group, the American company that makes Marlboro cigarettes.
The judge's orders were made "without prejudice," which means that NJOY may bring a new lawsuit against each of the dismissed defendants alone or possibly in smaller groupings where there is evidence of a relationship. Additionally, the court denied NJOY's demand for a preliminary injunction prohibiting the defendants from selling or distributing their product, as well as its allegation of unfair competition.
The court rejected NJOY's attempt to serve the Hong Kong-based Elf Bar producer IMiracle through email, pointing out that serving legal notice to overseas defendants can be done through an established international procedure known as the Hague Convention. As a result, NJOY's complaint against IMiracle is still pending but cannot move forward until the Chinese manufacturer receives formal notice of the litigation.
Formerly regarded as a pioneer in the independent vaping sector, NJOY is currently the vape division of Altria Group, the American company that makes Marlboro cigarettes. After forfeiting its 35 percent stake in Juul Labs, Altria paid $2.75 billion to purchase NJOY last year. Two of the six FDA-approved vape devices that are currently on the market are sold by NJOY.
