Oregon Laborers-Employers Health & Welfare Trust Fund v. Philip Morris Inc.

The plaintiffs in this action are six Oregon-based employee health and welfare benefit trust plans created to provide comprehensive health care benefits to their participants, who are thousands of union and public-sector workers employed under various collective bargaining agreements. Plaintiffs filed suit against defendants-eight tobacco companies, three non-profit public relations/lobbying/research councils and one public relations firm-under federal RICO, Oregon RICO, federal and state antitrust laws, and other Oregon state laws. Plaintiffs seek to recover the costs they have incurred treating their participants’ and beneficiaries’ smoking-related illnesses. The district court granted judgment on the pleadings in favor of defendants, concluding that plaintiffs had failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We affirm.

I.

Plaintiffs are five health and welfare trust funds that provide health care benefits to their participants and beneficiaries. These funds are formed and operated as legal trusts with each trust’s mission being to pay for health care benefits for participating workers, retirees and their…