Watson v. Philip Morris Companies Inc.
Watson filed a class action against Philip Morris in Arkansas state court, alleging that Philip Morris violated the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by designing its cigarettes to deliver more tar and nicotine to smokers than its use of the labels "lights" and "lowered tar and nicotine" in its advertising would suggest. Philip Morris removed the action to federal district court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1442(a)(1) (2000), which permits removal where a person is sued for actions taken under the direction of a federal officer. Philip Morris claims it satisfies the requirements of the federal officer statute because it was acting under the direct control of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) when it engaged in the allegedly unlawful conduct.
Based upon the FTC's involvement in the tobacco industry, the district court denied Watson's motion to remand to state court. The Eighth Circuit
Court of Appeals affirmed after examining the history of the FTC's extensive, detailed, and compulsory regulation of the cigarette industry, which
included designing the method for testing tar and nicotene levels in cigarettes, threatening deceptive advertising actions if the method of testing
deviated in the smallest way from the government-mandated
method, and controlling the disclosure of the results.
Question Presented:
Whether a private actor doing no more than complying with federal regulation is a “person acting under a federal officer” for the purpose of 28 U.S.C. § 1442(a)(1), entitling the actor to remove to federal court a civil action brought in state court under state law.
