Juul Labs Settles Minnesota Suit for Youth Marketing

Juul Labs on Monday announced a settlement in the state of Minnesota’s lawsuit against the e-cigarette manufacturer and tobacco giant Altria — the first of thousands of cases against the e-cigarette maker to reach trial — just ahead of closing arguments.

It comes only days after Juul announced its biggest settlement ever over the way it marketed its highly addictive products.

The Minnesota settlement is expected to be valued at a minimum of $100 million.

Officially, the terms will be kept confidential until formal papers are publicly filed with the court in 30 days, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a statement, according to the AP.

If it’s like Juul’s other settlements, the Minnesota settlement could include a multimillion-dollar payment and various restrictions on the marketing, sale and distribution of the company’s vaping products.

Ellison said ahead of the trial that he was seeking more than $100 million in damages.

“After three weeks of trial highlighting and bringing into the public record the actions that Juul and Altria took that contributed to the youth vaping epidemic, we reached a settlement in the best interest of Minnesotans,” Ellison said.

Juul said it would work with the state to finalize the details over the coming weeks.

“We have now settled with 48 states and territories, providing over $1 billion to participating states to further combat underage use and develop cessation programs,” the company said in a statement. “This is in addition to our global resolution of the U.S. private litigation that covers more than 5,000 cases brought by approximately 10,000 plaintiffs.”