A person smokes a Juul Labs Inc. e-cigarette in this arranged photograph taken in the Brooklyn Borough of New York.
A person smokes a Juul Labs Inc. e-cigarette in this arranged photograph taken in the Brooklyn Borough of New York.Photographer: Bloomberg/Bloomberg

Juul Fights Mafia Law Designation in Suits Against Its Marketing

E-cigarette maker seeks to avoid liability for triple damages

Juul Labs Inc. has the Mafia to thank for the most potent legal claims accusing the e-cigarette maker of igniting an epidemic of youth nicotine addiction.

The company will try to persuade a federal judge Monday that consumers and school districts can’t sue it under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, which has been called “the litigation equivalent of a thermonuclear device.”