In Iron Workers Local Union No. 17 Ins. Fund v. Philip Morris Inc., the plaintiff insurance trusts sued defendant on a number of theories, including antitrust, for conspiring to not manufacture safer cigarettes. The main assertion was that the tobacco companies had colluded in the form of a private association to eliminate competition and to halt development of a safer cigarette. The defendant moved to dismiss the suit, but the court denied the motion, holding that the plaintiff union may well have suffered an antitrust injury, as required under the Sherman Act, by the defendant’s possible attempts to evade competition and deny responsibility for injuries incurred by smokers. This case, however, has been regarded with some disagreement by other courts. See International Broth. of Teamsters Local 734 Health and Welfare Trust Fund v. Philip Morris, Inc. (34 F.Supp.2d 656 (ND Ill (1998)) (denying a similarly-situated plaintiff antitrust standing); Steamfitters Local Union 420 Welfare Fund v. Philip Morris, Inc. (171 F.3d 912 (3rd Circ. (1999))) (holding that the causal link between the evidence and the antitrust arguments was too remote).

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