Group Health Plan, Inc. v. Philip Morris usa

Submitted: May 15, 2003 For the purposes of the summary judgment motion that we review today, several tobacco companies (Tobacco) conceded that they conspired to mislead the public as to the health risks of smoking. As the district court2 did, we consider whether three Minnesota nonprofit health maintenance organizations (HMOs) have presented sufficient evidence of causation of harm and damages to recoup certain health-care costs of their members that resulted from tobacco use. For the reasons expressed below, we affirm the summary judgment entered in favor of Tobacco on the HMOs' damages claims, but we remand for further consideration of the HMOs' suit for injunctive relief. I.