"The issue of smoking in New Jersey casinos is heading back to court. A state appeals court ruled this week that a lower court must rehear a case about the casino industry's exemption to the state's indoor smoking ban. Plaintiffs in the case have argued that the exemption from the 2006 Smoke-Free Air Act violates the state constitution. The appellate court ruled that the judge in the case mishandled considering economic studies and legal tests in the case."
"The appeals court ruled that the lower court erred on several fronts. Those included improperly applying a "rational-basis test" rather than broader legal standard based on the state constitution's equal protection provisions. Additionally, the court said the ruling improperly used industry-produced studies on the potential negative effects of banning smoking. The appellate panel found that those findings should be weighed against other evidence."
""On remand, the court shall allow the record to be developed and litigated to address the hotly contested projections of revenue loss ... and for the court to make appropriate findings of fact concerning the reliability and credibility of the competing expert projections," the appeals judges said."
A state appeals court ordered a lower court to rehear a lawsuit challenging the casino industry's exemption from the state's indoor smoking ban. The appellate panel found errors including improper use of a rational-basis test instead of a broader equal protection standard and undue reliance on industry-produced economic studies. The court directed the lower court to develop the record, evaluate competing revenue-loss projections, and make findings on expert credibility. The case, brought by casino workers citing toxic workplace exposure, will proceed with new evidence and testimony amid mixed worker views and prior legislative and high court setbacks.
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