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The City of Baltimore, Maryland, filed a November 21st Complaint in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City against five cigarette manufacturers and a distributor in regard to alleged losses/costs associated with tobacco product litter.
The Complaint has been filed against:
- Philip Morris USA, Inc.
- Altria Group
- R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
- British American Tobacco P.L.C.
- Liggett Group LLC
- The George J. Falter Company
Certain allegations in the Complaint state that cigarette filters:
- Are the most common form of litter in the world
- Are made of a non-biodegradable material
- Contain toxic heavy metals and nicotine
- Are expensive to clean up and such cost is externalized to the cities and towns
- Are the largest number of individual items collected by Baltimore’s trash wheel program
- Constitute a public nuisance
Baltimore seeks to recover:
- Cleanup and disposal costs
- Damage to natural resources
- Diminution in property values
- Loss of revenue
- Fines for litter dumping
The Complaint includes claims for relief based on alleged:
- Violation of the Maryland Illegal Dumping Litter Control Law
- Violation of various Baltimore City Codes
- Continuing Trespass
- Strict Liability for Design Defect
- Negligent Design Defect
- Public Nuisance
- Strict Liability Failure to Warn
- Negligent Failure to Warn
A copy of the Complaint can be downloaded here.
