Contingencies (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Contingencies

The changes in our accrued liability for tobacco and health and certain other litigation items, including related interest costs, for the periods specified below are as follows:

	For the Three Months Ended March 31,
(in millions)	2022		2021
Accrued liability for tobacco and health and certain other litigation items at beginning of period	$	91	$	9
Pre-tax charges for:
Tobacco and health and certain other litigation (1)	12		35
Related interest costs	—		—
Payments	(103)		(36)
Accrued liability for tobacco and health and certain other litigation items at end of period	$	—	$	8

(1) Includes judgments, settlements and fee disputes associated with tobacco and health and certain other litigation.

The table below lists the number of certain tobacco-related cases pending in the United States against us as of:

	April 25, 2022	April 26, 2021	April 27, 2020
Individual Smoking and Health Cases (1)	163	162	109
Health Care Cost Recovery Actions (2)	1	1	1
E-vapor Cases (3)	3,744	2,150	202
Other Tobacco-Related Cases (4)	3	3	4

(1) Includes as of April 25, 2022, 18 cases filed in Illinois, 17 cases filed in New Mexico, 42 cases filed in Massachusetts and 53 non-Engle cases filed in Florida. Does not include individual smoking and health cases brought by or on behalf of plaintiffs in Florida state and federal courts following the decertification of the Engle case (these Engle progeny cases are discussed below in Smoking and Health Litigation - Engle Class Action). Also does not include 1,408 cases brought by flight attendants seeking compensatory damages for personal injuries allegedly caused by exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (“ETS”). The flight attendants allege that they are members of an ETS smoking and health class action in Florida, which was settled in 1997 (Broin). The terms of the court-approved settlement in that case allowed class members to file individual lawsuits seeking compensatory damages, but prohibited them from seeking punitive damages. Class members were prohibited from filing individual lawsuits after 2000 under the court-approved settlement.

(2) See Health Care Cost Recovery Litigation - Federal Government’s Lawsuit below.

(3) Includes as of April 25, 2022, 53 class action lawsuits, 2,891 individual lawsuits and 800 “third party” lawsuits relating to JUUL e-vapor products, which include school districts, state and local government, tribal and healthcare organization lawsuits. JUUL is an additional named defendant in each of these lawsuits. The 53 class action lawsuits include 28 cases in the Northern District of California (“Multidistrict Litigation” or “MDL”) involving plaintiffs whose claims were previously included in other class action complaints but were refiled as separate stand-alone class actions for procedural and other reasons.

(4) Includes as of April 25, 2022, one inactive smoking and health case alleging personal injury and purporting to be brought on behalf of a class of individual plaintiffs and two inactive class action lawsuits alleging that use of the terms “Lights” and “Ultra Lights” constitute deceptive and unfair trade practices, common law or statutory fraud, unjust enrichment, breach of warranty or violations of RICO.

Currently Pending Engle Cases with Verdicts Against PM USA

(rounded to nearest $ million)

Plaintiff	Verdict Date	Defendant(s)	Court	Compensatory Damages (1)	Punitive Damages (PM USA)	Post-Trial Status
Schertzer	April 2022	PM USA and R.J. Reynolds	Miami-Dade	$3 million	$0	PM USA plans to file one or more post-trial motions.
Lipp	September 2021	PM USA	Miami-Dade	$15 million	$28 million	Appeal by defendant to Third District Court of Appeal pending.
Garcia	May 2021	PM USA	Miami-Dade	$6 million	Mistrial	Appeals by plaintiff and defendant to Third District Court of Appeal pending.
Duignan	February 2020 (2)	PM USA and R.J. Reynolds	Pinellas	$3 million	$12 million	Second District Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment against defendants. Defendants’ petitioned the Florida Supreme Court for review. Case stayed pending Florida Supreme Court decision in Prentice.(3)
Cuddihee	January 2020	PM USA	Duval	$3 million	$0	Appeal by defendant to First District Court of Appeal pending.
Rintoul (Caprio)	November 2019 (2)	PM USA and R.J. Reynolds	Broward	$9 million	$74 million	Appeals by plaintiff and defendants to Fourth District Court of Appeal pending.
Gloger	November 2019 (2)	PM USA and R.J. Reynolds	Miami-Dade	$15 million	$11 million	Third District Court of Appeal reversed the judgment against defendants and remanded for a new trial.

Plaintiff	Verdict Date	Defendant(s)	Court	Compensatory Damages (1)	Punitive Damages (PM USA)	Post-Trial Status
McCall	March 2019	PM USA	Broward	<$1 million (<$1 million PM USA)	$0	New trial ordered on punitive damages.
Neff	March 2019	PM USA and R.J. Reynolds	Broward	$4 million	$2 million	Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed the judgment against defendants and remanded for a new trial. Plaintiff’s petition for review to the Florida Supreme Court pending.
Mahfuz	February 2019	PM USA and R.J. Reynolds	Broward	$12 million	$10 million	Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed the judgment against defendants and remanded for a new trial. Florida Supreme Court denied plaintiff’s petition for review of the Fourth District Court of Appeal’s decision.
Holliman	February 2019	PM USA	Miami-Dade	$3 million	$0	Appeal by defendant to Third District Court of Appeal pending.
Chadwell	September 2018	PM USA	Miami-Dade	$2 million	$0	Third District Court of Appeal affirmed the compensatory damages award. Defendant’s petitioned the Florida Supreme Court for review. Case stayed pending Florida Supreme Court decision in Prentice.(3)
Kaplan	July 2018	PM USA and R.J. Reynolds	Broward	$2 million	$2 million	Florida Supreme Court vacated the punitive damages award in accordance with the decision in Sheffield (3). The Fourth District Court of Appeals remanded the case to the trial court.
R. Douglas	November 2017	PM USA	Duval	<$1 million	$0	Awaiting entry of final judgment by the trial court.
Sommers	April 2017	PM USA	Miami-Dade	$1 million	$0	Third District Court of Appeal affirmed compensatory damages award and granted new trial on punitive damages. Florida Supreme Court denied PM USA’s petition for review of the Third District Court of Appeal’s decision. PM USA paid approximately $1 million for the compensatory damages award and awaits the new trial on punitive damages.
Cooper (Blackwood)	September 2015	PM USA and R.J. Reynolds	Broward	$5 million (<$1 million PM USA)	$0	Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed judgment and granted a new trial on punitive damages.
D. Brown	January 2015	PM USA	Federal Court - Middle District of Florida	$8 million	$9 million	Appeal by defendant to U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit stayed pending Florida Supreme Court decision in Prentice.(3)

(1) PM USA’s portion of the compensatory damages award is noted parenthetically where the court has ruled that comparative fault applies.

(2) Plaintiff’s verdict following a retrial of an initial verdict in favor of plaintiff.

(3) PM USA is not a defendant in Sheffield or Prentice. Both cases are discussed below in Engle Progeny Appellate Issues.