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The large-scale infringement litigation document is very long, with 300 pages, mounted on a wide ring binder like a Hollywood script. Similarly, it also has a villain role, a young victim in danger, and a cash vault at risk.

The national lawsuit includes more than a dozen Indiana school districts, as well as Chicago public schools and other Illinois suburbs, suing e-cigarette manufacturer JUUL under the same public nuisance law used to combat opioid manufacturers.

"What we are talking about here is that the same bad guy is involved in every community-JUUL's discovery funds," said a local lawyer who charges a referral fee for each school district in which he signed up for the lawsuit. "This lawsuit is an accidental case, which means that if we win, the school will win. If we lose, the school owes no money."

However, most school districts in the area are not interested or aware of litigation.

"I don't know of any discussion about Portage Township Schools joining the lawsuit," said Portage attorney Kenneth Elwood, who is the legal representative of the area.

I contacted several school districts to see if this lawsuit was within their scope of attention. There are only two answers.

"Our school district is familiar with this lawsuit, but at this time, the Crown Point Community School Company does not intend to join the lawsuit against JUUL," said CPCSC head Todd Terrill.

Griffith and East Chicago are currently the only two school districts in northwest Indiana that have joined the lawsuit, and the East Chicago School City officially signed on Monday. All that is needed is to fill out a 12-page plaintiff fact sheet, provided by school officials or lawyers.

Wagstaff & Cartmell, a law firm based in Kansas City, Missouri, filed a lawsuit on behalf of four “leader” school districts in an alliance with other law firms—located in San Francisco, Tucson, and Arizona; Palm Beach, Florida; and Kansas Wichita-selected to participate in the trial scheduled for 2022. It allows other school districts to hold companies responsible for the damage they cause to society: "The damage makes an entire generation of middle school students addicted to nicotine."

This lawsuit is getting more and more attention in school districts across the country, and other school districts are still joining, and they have guaranteed no out-of-pocket expenses.

Jon Kieffer, an attorney for Wagstaff & Cartmell, said: "The destruction and damage caused by JUUL, including advertising and marketing for teenagers, and products aimed at teenagers, have caused huge problems for many schools. "JUUL deliberately designed a product to attract children and then attract them."

I agree with this statement, although when I wrote it in 2019, a JUUL spokesperson quickly contacted me to clarify the company’s mission: “JUUL Labs is working with policy makers, regulators, parents, school officials, and community interests. Stakeholders have a common goal-to prevent young people from starting to take nicotine. We are committed to preventing young people from contacting JUUL products, and no young people or non-nicotine users should try JUUL."

The JUUL pod, as the vaporizer is called, looks like a USB flash drive. This is a ubiquitous technology used by many middle school students. Addictive)) nicotine salt, with flavors recognized by teenagers, such as mixed fruit, mint and caramel pudding."

As I wrote in 2019: "E-cigarettes are not only used as a tool for adult smokers to quit, but as a gateway for young people to smoke. If you are a parent and the experimental teenager is'just smoking e-cigarettes', then You just didn't pay attention."

JUUL is a popular marketing company that advertises that its business is to help adult smokers quit smoking. I said that its mission statement-to improve the lives of adult smokers-is clearly different from its business plan, which is to increase profits by changing traditional smokers and recruiting new smokers.

"Any settlement or judgment proceeds may help to recover the huge cost of fighting JUUL addiction," said Jewell Harris Jr., a lawyer at East Chicago School City. "School districts across the country are at a tipping point for sharp budget cuts."

If this large-scale infringement lawsuit is won in court or through a settlement, any money will go directly to the school that signed the agreement for any need that is considered a priority, such as installing e-cigarette sensors in the school bathroom, "now called The JUUL room," the suit stated.

The Indiana school districts participating in the lawsuit include Indianapolis, Carmel, South Bend, Mishawaka and Fort Wayne. In Illinois, the school districts of Waukegan, Springfield, and Champaign. I was told that most discussions about this lawsuit took place in private conversations between school administrators and lawyers, or in administrative meetings, rather than in public meetings in front of parents.

I want to know what parents think about this lawsuit and the potential financial windfall that schools with cash shortages might use to boost. In a follow-up column, I will share opinions from my parents and JUUL. JUUL’s mission is to “keep the world’s 1 billion adult smokers away from combustible cigarettes, eliminate their use, and combat the use of our products by minors,” its website say.

Obviously, teenagers who smoke e-cigarettes through "JUUL-ing" in any necessary way are at public health risk, whether it is in school restrooms, in cars in parking lots, or through the drawstring of a hoodie. Addiction is an addiction of any age.

"The school district is stepping up for their students and fighting back against JUUL in their multi-billion-dollar vault," the lawsuit said in a press release. "This lawsuit is against JUUL and other manufacturers."

Obviously, many law firms behind this lawsuit have also taken a stand, filling their bank accounts with a significant portion of any settlement from JUUL. The local lawyer I talked to charges a referral fee for each school district, and he hinted that if this lawsuit is successful, the school district may receive six-figure monetary gains.

"Why is the school district not interested in this settlement in these challenging times?" he asked.

I haven't got a reply yet.

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