Environmental & Energy
Sep. 23, 2026
Fresno, Sacramento counties fight tobacco companies over cigarette-butt cleanup
Sacramento and Fresno counties are seeking to return lawsuits against Philip Morris and other tobacco companies to state court, arguing their efforts to recover the costs of cigarette-butt pollution raise no substantial federal issues.
Fresno and Sacramento counties want to force tobacco giants back into state court. The twin cases, over bids to force Philip Morris USA Inc. and other companies to help clean up the millions of cigarette butts smokers fail to throw away properly, mirror similar litigation across the nation.
Both counties filed their cases in their own superior courts, only to see the defendants quickly transfer them to federal court. But the moves were not warranted, Karen Barth Menzies wrote in S...
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