Kennewick Schools Join National Vaping Lawsuit Against JUUL
Claiming potential financial harm, school districts are joining a national lawsuit brought against vape manufacturer JUUL. Kennewick and Spokane have now joined.
Kennewick is the latest District to join
This week, the Spokane Public School District also joined the suit. It's being led by Frantz Law Group APLC of San Diego, CA, and assisted by smaller law firms in states where schools are participating. Nationally, over 600 Districts in 30 states are in.
This suit is NOT part of the separate $22.5 million dollar suit just recently settled by JUUL with the State of WA (Ferguson's suit).
There are over 2,200 separate lawsuits against JUUL, this is one of them
The suits claim the company broke consumer protection laws by trying to target underage potential users, as well as not disclosing the potentially harmful effects of vaping.
This San Diego-based suit allows schools to join, and they can potentially obtain financial remuneration. According to the Spokesman-Review newspaper, who talked to an attorney, this suit focuses on the resources districts have been forced to devote to preventing vaping on school grounds.
According to the attorney, resources that schools have had to use for detectors, educational programs and staff time spent dealing with vaping can be listed on paperwork the District fills out to join the suit. It would list the financial expenditures or "harm."
Once legal fees are deducted, any money recovered from settlements would be given to the various schools.
Kennewick approves joining suit at this week's board meeting
According to information released by the District:
"The school board authorized Superintendent Dr. Traci Pierce to work with the Stevens Clay law firm to have the district join a pending lawsuit against Juul, an e-cigarette/vaping company, and Altria, Juul's major investor.
There's no cost to joining the lawsuit and it will require only about two hours of staff time to complete a questionnaire."
There is no way of knowing at this time what if any money will go to either Kennewick or Spokane Districts. Sequim and Seattle Public Schools have also joined.
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