The Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear an appeal by foreign tobacco companies trying to extricate themselves from a lawsuit over health-related costs, according to a Canadian Press story.
The Ontario government is seeking billions of dollars in health-care costs that it alleges are attributable to tobacco-related illnesses.
The companies argued they were foreign entities and the Ontario courts did not have jurisdiction to determine claims against them.
The companies were listed as: British American Tobacco (Investment) Ltd., B.A.T. Industries PLC, British American Tobacco PLC, Carreras Rothmans Ltd., R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco International Inc.
Ontario’s lawsuit stems from a 2009 law that gave the province a statutory right to sue manufacturers over tobacco-related health costs.
The Supreme Court, as is usual, gave no reasons for refusing to hear the appeal.