WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - (Mealey's) A Florida jury on Aug. 5 awarded $2.2 million in compensatory damages against a pair of tobacco companies to the widow of a smoker who died of small-cell lung cancer attributed to its products, finding that the smoker's addiction was the legal cause of his death...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - (Mealey's) On Aug. 26, a Florida jury returned a verdict of no liability for a cigarette company that was sued by the son of a deceased smoker in the latest Engle progeny case, one of only a handful of defense verdicts to date ( Jason Budnick v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. ...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - (Mealey's) A Florida jury found Oct. 4 that a pair of tobacco companies were not responsible for the disease and death of a longtime smoker, despite finding that she was addicted to cigarettes; the victory is one of only a handful for the tobacco industry since the Engle progeny...

MIAMI - (AP) A Florida Supreme Court ruling that threw out a $145 billion award against cigarette makers is biting Big Tobacco back, making it dramatically easier for thousands of smokers to sue and turning the state into the nation's hot spot for damage awards. The 2006 ruling has helped . . . ...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - A Florida jury awarded $4.5 million to the 87-year-old widow of a longtime smoker April 13, but tempered her eventual compensation by assigning nearly half of the responsibility to the decedent ( Mary Tullo v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, et al. , No. 2008-CA-035457, Fla. Cir...

MIAMI — (Mealey’s) A federal jury in Florida found for Philip Morris USA Inc. and Lorillard Group LLC Oct. 29 and against the estate of a smoker who died of lung cancer in 2001 ( Ronnie L. Jacobson, et al. v. Philip Morris USA Inc., et al. , No. 1:12-cv-23781, S.D. Fla.). ( Verdict slip...

PENSACOLA, Fla. — (Mealey’s) A Florida state court jury on July 18 ordered R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. to pay more than $23.6 billion in punitive damages to the family of a man who alleged that his death from lung cancer was caused by smoking ( Cynthia Robinson, et al. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — (Mealey’s) Plaintiff and defense attorneys on Aug. 11 laid out the evidence they expect to present to a jury in the Broward County, Fla., 17th Circuit Court in a suit alleging that a 62-year-old woman’s laryngeal and lung cancer was caused by years of smoking...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla — (Mealey’s) A Florida woman who alleges that her laryngeal and lung cancer was caused by years of smoking cigarettes testified Aug. 22 that she made numerous attempts to quit but was unsuccessful until her laryngectomy made it physically impossible for her to smoke ...

MIAMI — (Mealey’s) The attorney for the widow of a man who died of lung cancer after smoking for more than 45 years told a jury in the Florida 11th Judicial Court on Oct. 31 that his client’s husband “needed to smoke” because he was addicted to nicotine ( Diane Schleider...

MIAMI — (Mealey’s) A jury in Florida’s 11th Judicial Circuit Court returned a $21 million verdict Nov. 18 for the widow of a man who died of lung cancer after smoking for 45 years ( Diane Schleider, et al. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. , No. 13-2013-CA-006984, Fla. 11th Jud. Cir., Dade...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — (Mealey’s) A Florida state court jury awarded $3 million in punitive damages March 25 to the widow of a man who died of lung cancer after smoking for approximately 50 years ( Rose Pollari, et al. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., et al. , No. 14-001563CA19, Fla. 17th Jud...

PENSACOLA, Fla. — (Mealey’s) A Florida state court jury returned a defense verdict May 21 in a suit alleging that the death of a former smoker from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), coronary artery disease and peripheral vascular disease was caused by his years of smoking ( Ethel...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — (Mealey’s) Trial got under way in Florida state court on June 23 with opening statements in a suit alleging that a woman’s death from lung cancer and other smoking-related diseases was caused by her addiction to cigarettes ( John McCoy, et al. v. R.J. Reynolds...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — (Mealey’s) A Florida state court jury on July 13 awarded $1.5 million to the widower of a woman who died of lung cancer after years of smoking ( John McCoy, et al. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., et al. , No. 2008-CV-025806 (19), Fla. 17th Jud. Cir., Broward Co.). ...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — (Mealey’s) A Florida state court jury on July 17 awarded $9 million in punitive damages — $3 million each against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Philip Morris USA Inc. and Lorillard Tobacco Co. — to the widower of a woman who died of lung cancer after years...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — (Mealey’s) Trial got under way with opening statements on July 22 in a suit alleging that a woman’s death from lung cancer was caused by her 52 years of smoking cigarettes manufactured by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. ( Lillian Kaplan v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — (Mealey’s) A state court jury awarded $1,028,000 Aug. 7 to the estate of a woman who developed constructive obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer after 52 years of smoking ( Lillian Kaplan v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. , No. 08-19469, Fla. 17th Jud. Cir...