Watson v. Philip Morris Cos.
| Watson v. Philip Morris Cos. | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Decided June 11, 2007 | |
| Full case name | Watson v. Philip Morris Cos. |
| Citations | 551 U.S. 142 (more) |
| Holding | |
| The fact that a federal agency directs, supervises, and monitors a company's activities in considerable detail does not bring that company within the scope of the statute permitting removal jurisdiction for actions against federal officers. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinion | |
| Majority | Breyer, joined by unanimous |
| Laws applied | |
| 28 U.S.C. §1442(a)(1) | |
Watson v. Philip Morris Cos., 551 U.S. 142 (2007), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court held that the fact that a federal agency directs, supervises, and monitors a company's activities in considerable detail does not bring that company within the scope of the statute permitting removal jurisdiction for actions against federal officers.[1][2][3][4]
Background
Plaintiffs including Watson filed a state-court suit claiming that Philip Morris violated Arkansas unfair business practice laws by advertising certain cigarette brands as "light" when, in fact, Philip Morris had manipulated testing results to register lower levels of tar and nicotine in the advertised cigarettes than would be delivered to consumers. Philip Morris removed the case to federal District Court under the federal-officer removal statute, which permits removal of an action against "any officer (or any person acting under that officer) of the United States or of any agency thereof". This is codified at 28 U.S.C. §1442(a)(1). The federal court upheld the removal, ruling that the complaint attacked Philip Morris' use of the Government's method of testing cigarettes and thus that petitioners had sued Philip Morris for "acting under" the Federal Trade Commission. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, emphasizing the FTC's detailed supervision of the cigarette testing process and likening the case to others in which lower courts permitted removal by heavily supervised Government contractors.[1]
Opinion of the court
The Supreme Court issued an opinion on June 11, 2007.[1]
Later developments
References
- ^ a b c Watson v. Philip Morris Cos., 551 U.S. 142 (2007).
- ^ Meier, Fred; Cunningham, Jonathan; Reenan, John; Hettinger, Hays (January 1, 2007). "Federal Officer Removal: Watson Would Fly with FAA Designees". Journal of Air Law and Commerce. 72 (3): 485. ISSN 0021-8642.
- ^ Klenov, Michael E. (January 1, 2009). "Preemption and Removal: Watson Shuts the Federal Officer Backdoor to the Federal Courthouse, Conceals Familiar Motive". Washington University Law Review. 86 (6): 1455–1491. ISSN 2166-7993.
- ^ Steinglass, Steven (January 1, 2007). "The Standing and Removal Decisions from the Supreme Court's 2006 Term". Cleveland Bar Journal. 78: 20.
External links
This article incorporates written opinion of a United States federal court. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the text is in the public domain.