A 1999 jury verdict that the tobacco industry withheld information about the dangers of cigarettes and marketed unreasonably dangerous products can be used in future cases against the industry, thanks to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

Bloomberg News reported Oct. 2 that the high court upheld without comment a Florida Supreme Court ruling that the verdict in the case against Philip Morris USA and R.J. Reynolds could be used as the basis for future litigation by Florida smokers and their family members.

The tobacco companies unsuccessfully argued that the findings from the 1999 class-action lawsuit were too generalized to be used by individual plaintiffs.

"We're expecting in the tens of thousands to be filed by the deadline" in January, said Edward L. Sweda Jr., a senior lawyer for the Tobacco Products Liability Project.

The Florida Supreme Court ruled that the original $145-billion case could not proceed as a class action, but that individuals could still sue tobacco makers.