Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Corporation Counsel Ed Siskel and Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Commissioner (BACP) Rosa Escareno on Tuesday announced that the City of Chicago is filing a lawsuit against 27 online sellers of e-cigarettes and vaping liquids and citing 4 retail stores in Chicago with illegal sales of products to minors. This suit follows actions taken in November, in which a lawsuit was filed against eight online retailers and 15 brick-and-mortar retailers were cited. The lawsuit, which was filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County on Monday, follows a similar suit filed against eight online sellers in November that has already resulted in three of those sellers deciding to stop selling e-liquids entirely and a fourth leaving the Chicago market. City attorneys are in ongoing discussions and litigation with the remaining online sellers from the November suit, as well as pursuing an investigation against other companies that market their products to minors through product names and packaging and social media accounts. A few of the online retailers named as defendants in the City’s lawsuit includes:

• BCC Distribution Inc., d/b/a Beard Vape Co., Inc.;

• Five Star Juice;

• The Sabagh Group, LLC, d/b/a Lighter USA;

• Vaporider.

Monday’s lawsuit, which is captioned City of Chicago v. BCC Distribution, Inc., et al., No. 2019-CH-1756 (Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois), was prepared by attorneys in Chicago’s Affirmative Litigation Division, which represents the city in a broad range of investigations and litigation matters in both federal and state courts to protect the interests of the City and the rights, health and safety of its residents.