UPS liable for shipping contraband cigarettes in New York, damages reduced: court - Reuters
A federal appeals court found United Parcel Service Inc liable to New York state and New York City for shipping hundreds of thousands of cartons of untaxed cigarettes, but reduced its payout for damages and unpaid taxes to about $97.6 million from $247 million.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan agreed with a trial judge that UPS violated a federal anti-cigarette trafficking law and New York’s public health law by shipping the contraband cigarettes, which often came from Indian reservations.
In a 115-page decision, Circuit Judge Gerard Lynch wrote that UPS also violated its October 2005 Assurance of Discontinuance with the state not to ship cigarettes to consumers and unlicensed dealers, and that shielding it from liability “would thwart the AOD’s purpose.”
A federal appeals court found United Parcel Service Inc liable to New York state and New York City for shipping hundreds of thousands of cartons of untaxed cigarettes, but reduced its payout for damages and unpaid taxes to about $97.6 million from $247 million.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan agreed with a trial judge that UPS violated a federal anti-cigarette trafficking law and New York’s public health law by shipping the contraband cigarettes, which often came from Indian reservations.
In a 115-page decision, Circuit Judge Gerard Lynch wrote that UPS also violated its October 2005 Assurance of Discontinuance with the state not to ship cigarettes to consumers and unlicensed dealers, and that shielding it from liability “would thwart the AOD’s purpose.”
