The federal district court for the Northern District of California also dismissed climate washing claims by consumers who purchased “Vuse” brand vaping products marketed as “carbon neutral.” The consumers challenged the validity of the third party-verified carbon offset credits on which the carbon neutrality claim relied. The court rejected the defendants’ claim that the plaintiffs lacked standing, finding that the consumers alleged a “pocketbook injury” caused by their purchase of vape products at a premium price based on the defendants’ carbon neutral marketing. The court found, however, that the plaintiffs failed to state claims under California’s consumer protection laws because they did not plausibly allege that a reasonable consumer would adopt the plaintiffs’ specific interpretation of carbon neutrality requiring no additional carbon emissions to the atmosphere and an “independent, primary-source verification of the carbon-offset project amounts.” In addition, the court found that the consumers failed to allege that defendants lacked a “reasonable basis” for the carbon neutrality claims and that the consumers’ complaint “fails to provide a sufficient factual basis to bridge the gap between a technical disagreement over a carbon-offset projects and a plausible claim of consumer deception.” In addition, the court found that the consumers failed to state a claim for breach of express warranty and that they abandoned their claims of breach of implied warranty and unjust enrichment. The court also concluded that it lacked personal jurisdiction over a United Kingdom-based investment holding company that was an indirect parent company of two of the defendants. The court found that the plaintiffs did not meet their burden of establishing that the subsidiaries were alter egos of the UK-based company and that the plaintiffs did not demonstrate that jurisdictional discovery was necessary. The plaintiffs had voluntarily dismissed another defendant from the case at the end of January 2026. The court granted the consumers leave to amend their complaint as to claims the California consumer protection law and express warranty claims.

Greenwashing action alleging that "carbon neutral" representations about Vuse-brand vaporizer devices and consumable products were false and misleading.

Bell v. R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co.

<p>This entry was provided by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. Please see the terms of use for citation and licensing of third party data.</p>

Bell v. R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. - order

Filed

The Climate Litigation Database

Find climate change litigation data and indicators for {text}.

{text} litigation

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law provides Climate Litigation Database, a comprehensive database of US and Global climate change caselaw

Quickly and easily search through the complete text of thousands of climate change law and policy documents from every country.

Search the Climate Litigation Database

An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

A loan is a policy instrument where funds are provided to a borrower with the expectation of repaying the principal plus interest.

Tradable permits are market-based tools that grant permission for specific activities, frequently used to regulate emissions. These permits can be issued within a trading system to manage environmental impacts.

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Actions or measures to adapt terrestrial systems to climate change.

A long-lived, colourless gas, chiefly emitted from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation and cement production.

Terrestrial means "of the earth" and relates to the risks to ecological system that includes all living organisms and their interactions within land-based environments, such as forests, grasslands, and deserts.

This sector creates and distributes information and entertainment through television, radio, print, and digital platforms.

This sector provides communication services, software development, and IT solutions.

Activities that relate to the production of goods and services from forests.

Activities involving the catching, processing, and selling of fish for food, recreation, and industry.

Bell v. R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. - order

Policy instrument

Risk

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance