UPDATE 1-Quebec appeals court upholds 2015 tobacco class action

The Court of Appeal of Quebec upheld on Friday the bulk of a 2015 decision that awarded C$15 billion ($11.28 billion) in damages and interest to smokers in the Canadian province, dealing a blow to Big Tobacco. The judgment involves class action suits that were consolidated against the Canadian subsidiaries of British American Tobacco, Philip Morris International and Japan Tobacco International, known respectively as Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd, Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc and JTI-MacDonald Corp. Representatives for the companies could not be immediately reached for comment.

The companies were appealing a 2015 ruling to award damages to some 100,000 Quebec smokers and ex-smokers who alleged the companies knew since the 1950s that their product was causing cancer and other illnesses and failed to warn consumers adequately. In a summary, the court of appeal sided with the decision by a Quebec Superior Court justice that concluded the companies "failed to provide information or adequate information to users on the safety defect inherent in their products" and "participated in a campaign of disinformation by attacking the credibility of warnings, advice or explanations issued by others dealing with the dangers associated with smoking cigarettes."

Radio-Canada reported that the tobacco companies would be required to pay more than C$17 billion, reflecting additional interest. The class action was considered to be the largest civil case in Canadian history, marking the first time tobacco companies went to trial in a civil suit in the country.

"This is a huge defeat for the tobacco industry," said Rob Cunningham, senior policy analyst from the Canadian Cancer Society in an emailed statement. "The Court of Appeal did reverse the Superior Court on some relatively minor points, but that does not materially change the overall result." The two Quebec suits, called the Letourneau and Blais cases, were filed in 1998 and certified as class actions in 2005. They were consolidated into one before the 2012 start of trial proceedings, which ended in 2014. ($1 = 1.3292 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Allison Lampert; Editing by Leslie Adler)