Juul Labs Inc, an electronic cigarette company, has agreed to pay $1.7 billion to settle more than 5,000 lawsuits, according to reports.
A bulk of the suits allege that the company used its marketing to target children and teenagers. Despite the settlement, Juul has denied the accusations.
The various lawsuits by more than 10,000 plaintiffs were consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, with the lawsuits included dealing with personal injury, consumer class action, government entities, and Native American tribes.
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Juul also agreed in September to pay more than $438 million to settle another multistate investigation. The most recent agreement was signed on Tuesday, resolving legal liabilities that almost pushed the company to declare bankruptcy.
Sarah London, a co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs in the lawsuits, said this settlement would give victims “meaningful compensation,” according to a statement.
“The scope of these suits is enormous,” London wrote.
“These settlements will put meaningful compensation in hands of victims and their families, get real funds to schools for abatement programs, and help government and tribal entities prevent youth use of e-cigarettes across the U.S.,” she added.
The company has declined in prevalence in America after the Food and Drug Administration made moves earlier this summer to ban sales of the company’s products in the United States, though the company challenged it in court. This led the FDA to pause the ban while it appealed the rule.
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The use of e-cigarettes continues to climb among young people, with the FDA finding that 2.5 million young people use them.
The full terms of the new settlement have not been released.
