A lawsuit that alleges the maker of Marlboro Lights used deceptive trade practices and false advertising when it marketed its cigarettes as "light" can proceed in Minnesota as a class-action claim, the state Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.

The 45-page ruling by the three-judge panel sends the 2001 lawsuit against Philip Morris back to Hennepin County District Court.

The class would include people who bought Marlboro Lights in Minnesota for their personal use from 1972 through November 2004. The number of people in the class and the amount of damages they would seek was not immediately available Tuesday. The plaintiffs are seeking refunds of money they spent on the cigarettes.

In a statement, Philip Morris said it was considering its options for an appeal. The company said it believes class-action status is inappropriate because the circumstances of each smoker are different.

The district court denied the request for class certification in 2004, saying it was necessary to look at each person's reasons for smoking light cigarettes and the manner in which they smoked them. But later that year, the district court reversed itself and certified the class, saying that because the injury being claimed was economic, not physical, all class members suffered similar injury.