In New York state alone, a total of $3.6 million will be allocated between 143 school districts and Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) vocational training facilities. New York City will receive the largest share of that, although the specifics are not public, while the lowest amounts awarded to much smaller districts could come in around $8,000, explained Jeff Lewis, an attorney and partner with the Ferrara Fiorenza firm, which represented most of the districts and BOCES entities in New York state that joined the suit.
A school district in Aspen, Colo., filed the initial litigation in 2020, and the mass action suit increased with school districts across the country. The settlement was announced in December. Some school officials learned of their allocation amounts in recent weeks, and others are still awaiting word if they will receive money. Lewis said the award amounts are based on the size of the district and when they joined the suit; those who got on board earlier in the process are likely to receive more money.
Lewis said the court appointed “special masters” to determine allocation amounts to districts. If school leaders do not agree with their amounts, they can still proceed to trial.
The court decision does not require districts to spend their allocations specifically on vape detectors or nicotine and tobacco awareness education programs for students, Lewis said, but presumably that’s where much of the money will go.
Some vape sensors may resemble smoke detectors but are far more sophisticated and costly, especially if linked to monitoring systems. According to the website for Triton Sensors, which sells its technology to districts across the country, devices can identify the presence of tiny vapor particles emitted from e-cigarettes. Unlike smoke detectors that are designed to alert and evacuate those in the vicinity, vape sensors can be used more discreetly so school personnel in a different part of the building are alerted to the activity and can catch students red-handed.
In Greece Central School District in suburban Rochester, N.Y., district officials are mulling over their $253,536 allocation, according to district spokeswoman Laurel Heiden. She said they want to add vape sensors in more bathrooms within the district’s four high schools. There is also a need for portable open-gate metal detectors, which can be used at school and athletic facility entrances and could discourage students from bringing e-cigarettes and vaping pens to campus.
In addition, Heiden said, money would be spent on the district’s existing youth vaping and nicotine education program, either on additional awareness programs or counseling services for students who get caught vaping on school grounds.
“The funds are unrestricted, but it will be spent on anti-vaping measures,” she said.
All told, litigations against Juul have involved thousands of plaintiffs across the nation, including individual consumers, local and state governments, schools and Indian tribes. According to federal court documents, settlement totals so far exceed a billion dollars. Besides claims that Juul marketed to children, other suits allege that the company failed to provide appropriate warnings about the dangers of its products.
On its homepage, Juul issued a Dec. 6 statement acknowledging the results of the federal multidistrict litigation filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, which included the settlement awards to school districts across the nation.
“These settlements represent a major step toward strengthening Juul Labs’ operations and securing the company’s path forward to fulfill its mission to transition adult smokers away from combustible cigarettes while combating underage use,” the statement said.
