State's trial against Juul Labs over underage vaping to open in Hennepin County

Testimony begins Tuesday in Minnesota's trial against e-cigarette maker Juul Labs, with Attorney General Keith Ellison expected to give an opening statement in Hennepin County District Court.

The state is seeking more than $100 million in damages from Juul, which "deceptively tricked and lured kids into using a product that is dangerous," the attorney general said in an interview Monday during jury selection.

Minnesota was among dozens of states that filed a lawsuit in December 2019 accusing Juul of misleading marketing practices illegally aimed at children. State leaders announced the lawsuit as a continuation of Minnesota's landmark $6.5 billion settlement with Big Tobacco more than two decades ago.

The attorney general's office is teaming up again with the Robins Kaplan law firm and attorney Tara Sutton, who helped lead the state's 1998 tobacco case that settled after a four-month trial. Minneapolis firm Zimmerman Reed also is on the case. The private firms are being paid on a contingency basis, according to Ellison's office.

The trial is expected to last three weeks and will be held in front of District Judge Laurie Miller, who was appointed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty in 2008.

Juul Labs has reached settlements with 39 other states and territories, a company spokesman noted in a statement.

"We have and continue to seek a similar settlement with the state of Minnesota," said the statement from Juul. "Unfortunately, the Minnesota attorney general's office is determined to go to trial led by an outside law firm, incurring significant costs to the taxpayers and judicial system."

Juul Labs agreed on March 10 to pay the city of Chicago $23.8 million to settle its lawsuit on similar claims of marketing to youth.

Minnesota is the first plaintiff to take the company to trial, because Juul had yet to offer an amount that would compensate the state for its losses, Ellison said. "They addicted a lot of kids," he added.

Said Juul: "Effective interventions to address underage use of all tobacco products in Minnesota, including vapor, depends not on headline-driven trials, but on evidence-based policies, programs, and enforcement."

As evidence to back up its claim, Juul cited statistics from the National Youth Tobacco Survey showing a 50% decline in underage use of vapor products generally and a 95% decline in use of Juul products. The survey covered a stretch from 2019 to 2022.

San Francisco-based Juul has been blamed for igniting the youth vaping epidemic. Last year, the once-booming Silicon Valley company laid off hundreds of workers and settled thousands of lawsuits brought by families of Juul users, school districts, city governments and American Indian tribes.

Ellison said Juul products were more dangerous than cigarettes because they were marketed in appealing flavors that make them easier to inhale than traditional tobacco.

In fall of 2019, Juul Labs stopped distributing pods flavored with mint, fruit, creme and cucumber. The company also suspended all advertising in the United States and shut down its social media accounts.

Last summer, the federal Food and Drug Administration barred Juul from selling its vaping device along with tobacco and menthol flavored cartridges. Juul appealed the decision and the order was stayed by the courts pending that appeal.