Legal

State

Appeals court upholds judgment against R.J. Reynolds (FL)
In an appeal of the first Engle progeny verdict, the 1st District Court of Appeals in Florida has upheld a $28 million judgment against R.J. Reynolds. The tobacco company had argued that the damages awarded to the family of Benny Martin, a former smoker who died of lung cancer in 1995, were excessive. The court disagreed with R.J. Reynolds, saying that the plaintiffs had provided enough evidence to prove causation of the smoker’s death and the family’s entitlement to compensation. The damages include $3.3 million in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages. “Engle progeny” cases stem from a class-action lawsuit thrown out by the Florida Supreme Court in 2006. Read more here. Related: Engle verdict tracker updated The Courtroom View Network (CVN) has updated its Engle Verdict Tracker to include cases decided through December 15, 2010. The tracker shows the outcomes of 32 Engle cases that have resulted in a verdict, including four new verdicts since the tracker was last updated in October. The tracker contains charts showing the Engle verdicts arranged chronologically, alphabetically, and by verdict amount. Click here to access the tracker.

Mass. jury rules against Lorillard, awards $71M to dead smoker's family (MA)
A jury in Massachusetts’ Suffolk Superior Court has awarded the family of a former smoker $71 million in compensatory damages in a wrongful death trial against Lorillard. The family of Marie Evans claimed that the company used illegal marketing tactics, such as giving away free cigarettes to children in urban neighborhoods, to get Ms. Evans addicted to cigarettes as a child, and that smoking ultimately led to her death from lung cancer at age 54. Lorillard disputes these claims, saying that they never targeted black communities or children with their products, and that Ms. Evans should have been aware of the health risks of tobacco use. Read more here. Update: Tobacco company ordered to pay $152m A jury has ordered Lorillard to pay Marie Evans’s family $81 million in punitive damages in addition to the $71 million in compensatory damages awarded earlier. The total award is $152 million, which is currently the largest award in an individual smoking and health case. Lorillard is expected to appeal the case. Click here to read more.

Judge denies class action in cigarette lawsuits (ME)
U.S. District Judge John A. Woodcock of Maine has rejected four attempts to assemble a nationwide class action suit against Philip Morris for misleading smokers about health risks associated with “light” cigarettes. In his statement, Judge Woodcock says that the plaintiffs did not meet requirements for class-action status, as plaintiffs in such cases must have suffered an actual injury, which would not include potential injury associated with believing misleading advertising about “light” cigarettes. He also commented that the plaintiffs’ lawyers could not assume that millions of individual smokers believed the misleading claims, or that they purchased cigarettes manufactured by Philip Morris. This decision affects cases filed in Illinois, Maine, California, and Washington, D.C. Click here and here to read more.

Chewing tobacco to pay $5M in mouth cancer case (NC)
U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co., the maker of Skoal and Cophenhagen chewing tobacco, has agreed to pay the family of a man who died from cancer $5 million to settle a wrongful death suit. Bobby Hill of North Carolina died in 2003 from tongue cancer following nearly thirty years of using chewing tobacco. His wife filed suit against U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co. in 2005, claiming that the company was responsible for Hill’s death, as it sells a dangerous product that causes disease and death in its consumers. The family’s attorney used letters the company sent to minors in the 1980s thanking them for their business and supplying free samples to show the company’s negligence. Additionally, the family’s arguments were particularly strong because Bobby Hill did not smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol, which can also cause mouth cancer. This case is believed to be the first wrongful death settlement involving smokeless tobacco, and is predicted to spark similar lawsuits. Click here to read more.

Lawsuit may set a record (NH)
A Superior Court Judge in New Hampshire has certified a class action lawsuit against Philip Morris USA in which the company is accused of violating the state’s Consumer Protection Act in its marketing of Marlboro Lights cigarettes. The class could become the largest in state history, as it includes anyone who bought Marlboro Lights in New Hampshire since they were first sold in 1971. The lawsuit alleges that Philip Morris misrepresented the health effects of their products by marketing them as “light” or “low tar,” which implied that they were less harmful than regular cigarettes. The plaintiffs are asking for Philip Morris to pay triple the amount of either any actual damages or $1,000 per class member, plus a refund of the money customers paid for Marlboro Lights and any profits the company made from the cigarettes. Philip Morris plans to appeal the certification to the state Supreme Court. Click here to read more.

NJ casino secondhand smoke suit settled for $4.5M (NJ)
A former employee of the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey has settled for $4.5 million in a lawsuit with the casino over health problems stemming from secondhand smoke exposure. Vince Rennich, had filed suit against Tropicana in 2006 after being diagnosed with lung cancer as a nonsmoker. He claimed his cancer was caused by being exposed to secondhand smoke at work over the course of 25 years. Atlantic City policymakers almost banned smoking in casinos in 2008, but instead enacted a looser law after the economy declined and casinos expressed worries about losing clients. The current law prohibits smoking on 75 percent of the casino floor, leaving the remaining 25% with the potential to be designated as smoking areas. Antismoking advocates say that Rennich's case could be a catalyst in removing the casino exemption from New Jersey's current smoke-free indoor air law. Read more here.

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National

Court: FDA can regulate e-cigs as tobacco products
A three-judge panel in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington has upheld a lower-court decision that will only allow the FDA to regulate electronic cigarettes as tobacco products, not drugs or devices. The lawsuit was originally filed in 2009 by Smoking Everywhere Inc., resulting in an injunction being issued that prohibited the FDA from banning the importation of e-cigarettes into the U.S. The current case, filed by Sottera Inc., was about how e-cigarettes should be defined, which in turn determines how they could be regulated. The ruling that they are considered tobacco products instead of drug delivery devices means that the FDA has less power; the FDA can regulate the marketing of e-cigarettes, but cannot restrict their sale or require clinical trials to prove safety. Health advocates have expressed disappointment over the decision, citing the dangers of allowing a product on the market without proving its safety or regulating how it is manufactured and sold. The FDA is reviewing the decision and considering further action. Read more here.

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