U.S. top court rules against Philip Morris

WASHINGTON, June 11 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday that a class-action lawsuit against Philip Morris USA, a unit of Altria Group Inc. (MO.N), should not be decided in federal court, handing a defeat to the tobacco company. The justices unanimously reversed a ruling that allowed Philip Morris to transfer the lawsuit to federal court from the Arkansas state court where it initially was filed.

((Reporting by Peter Kaplan and James Vicini, editing by Dave Zimmerman; Reuters Messaging: peter.kaplan.reuters.com@reuters.net; email: peter.kaplan@reuters.com; +1 202 898 8463, fax: +1 202 898 8383))

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