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Pending a Pennsylvania state court’s determination of claims under state law, a federal court has put on hold a federal challenge to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue’s expansive reading of Pennsylvania’s new tax on vapor products. The suit began in the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania and challenges the Department’s reading as a matter of statutory interpretation, the Pennsylvania Constitution and the U.S. Constitution.

For agreeing not to challenge Natural American Spirit’s use of the word “Natural” in its product packaging and labeling, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“the FDA”) has been sued in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The case is Sproule v. U.S. Food & Drug Administration, et al., No. 9:17‑cv‑80709 (S.D. Fla.).

Troutman Sanders attorneys Bryan Haynes and Robert Claiborne, Jr. were featured in the April 2017 issue of SMOKESHOP magazine. The article, titled “UPS Untaxed Cigarette Trafficking Liability: Increased Scrutiny on Tobacco Companies”, discusses a recent court decision finding United Parcel Service liable to New York City and New York State …

Troutman attorney Bryan Haynes will attend this year’s 85th annual IPCPR trade show held July 10-14, 2017 in Las Vegas, NV. You can meet Bryan at the Smokeshop Magazine booth.

Click here to learn more about the IPCPR and the Trade Show.

For questions and/or comments, please contact Bryan …

Just last year, Pennsylvania passed a draconian new tax on electronic cigarettes.  Imposed at the rate of 40% of the retailer’s purchase price, the tax applies to all “electronic cigarettes,” which is defined to mean an “electronic oral device, such as one composed of a heating element and battery or electronic circuit, or both, which provides a vapor of nicotine or any other substance and the use or inhalation of which simulates smoking.”  This term is defined to include both (1) a device, as described in the definition above, and irrespective how it is marketed, and (2) any liquid or other substance placed or sold for use in such a device. 

How much must a common carrier do to police its shipments? The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit will have the opportunity to weigh in on a $246,975,614 judgment against the United Parcel Service, Inc., (“UPS”) now that the firm has filed a Notice of Appeal. The Notice was filed on June 23, 2017, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Troutman attorneys Bryan M. Haynes and Robert S. Claiborne, Jr. were featured in the February 2017 issue of SMOKESHOP, a tobacco industry magazine, in an article discussing the Indiana Vapor Act. This article discusses the federal appeals court’s decision that Indiana’s Vapor Pens and E-Liquid Act is unconstitutional to the …