R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company was denied a new trial or judgment as a matter of law after a 37-year-old smoker with larynx cancer was awarded $11,952,539 against it on claims of strict liability and negligence. The "heightened addictive properties... Read More
MIAMI — (Mealey’s) The Third District Florida Court of Appeal affirmed $25 million in punitive damages to the widow of a smoker Sept. 4, saying the award, which was in addition to $16 million in compensatory damages, was not unconstitutionally... Read More
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... Read More
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — (Mealey’s) A Florida federal jury added $2.5 million in punitive damages Friday to $2.5 million in compensatory damages it had awarded May 15 to a woman who said three companies’ cigarettes caused chronic obstructive... Read More
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... Read More
MIAMI — (Mealey’s) Trial got under way in state court on June 4 in a suit alleging that a Florida man’s death from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was caused by his addiction to cigarettes ( Joyce Hardin, et al. v. R.J.... Read More
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... Read More
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - (Mealey's) A Florida federal court jury found for the defense Feb. 16 in the first federal tobacco trial based on the Florida Supreme Court's landmark ruling in Engle v. Liggett Group, Inc. (945 So.2d 1246 [Fla. Sup. 2006... Read More
WASHINGTON, D.C. - (Mealey's) The U.S. Supreme Court has denied tobacco companies' appeal of a Louisiana state court order to fund a $241 million medical monitoring and smoking cessation program, according to a clerk of the court report issued... Read More
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - (Mealey's) Given that tobacco companies have learned to circumvent bans on marketing to minors, a divided Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said March 19, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's proposal for large, graphic... Read More
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — (Mealey’s) A Florida state court judge accepted a partial jury verdict in a suit against four tobacco companies Feb. 24 amid calls for a mistrial from the defendants after the jury reported that it could not reach agreement... Read More
HARRISBURG, Pa. - (Mealey's) In a 5-2 en banc ruling, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on June 27 dismissed most preliminary objections to a lawsuit filed by 75 participants of a now-unfunded health insurance program who are challenging the constitutionality... Read More
WASHINGTON, D.C. - (Mealey's) A challenge to the $200 billion tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) reached the end of the road March 7 when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case, which claims that the settlement violates the Sherman... Read More
WASHINGTON, D.C. - (Mealey's) A District of Columbia federal judge on Nov. 27 released the language tobacco companies will be required to include in corrective statements in newspaper and television advertisements, on their websites and in cigarette... Read More
MINNEAPOLIS - (Mealey's) A lawsuit alleging that Philip Morris USA used deceptive trade practices and false advertising to market its Marlboro Lights cigarettes may proceed in Minnesota as a class action, the state Court of Appeals ruled Dec. 28,... Read More