Juul Labs, a Reuters - E-cigarette maker, said on Tuesday it had reached settlements with more than 10,000 plaintiffs covering more than 5,000 cases in California.
Juul did not disclose the settlement amount as part of the settlement and court process in the federal multidistrict litigation and related JUUL Labs product cases. A spokeswoman told Reuters that the company had obtained equity investment to fund it.
Philip Federico, a lawyer representing 60 school districts in the US in the litigation against Juul, said the settlement is a great victory for school districts burdened by the vaping epidemic and that it will allow school districts to recover the costs of combating the epidemic.
In September, Juul, which is owned by Altria Group Inc., agreed to pay $438.5 million to settle claims by 34 U.S. states and territories that it downplayed its products' risks and targeted underage buyers.
In November, Juul said it had secured an investment from some early investors that will keep the e-cigarette maker in business, plans to lay off about 400 people and reduce operating budget by 30% to 40%.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration FDA said in late June that the company's e-cigarettes had been temporarily banned in the country after it concluded that it would not show that the sale of its products would be appropriate for public health.
After an appeal, the health regulator put the ban on hold and agreed to an additional review of Juul's marketing application.