Reynolds American Ordered to Pay $23 Billion to Smoker’s Widow
2014-07-20 04:01:01.0 GMT
By Susannah Nesmith
July 20 (Bloomberg) -- A Reynolds American Inc. unit was
ordered by a Florida jury to pay a Pensacola woman $23 billion
in punitive damages for her husband’s death from lung cancer,
her lawyer said.
Since a Florida Supreme Court decision in 2006, individual
plaintiffs in the state have been awarded large verdicts, with
most of those being reduced on appeal.
The jury on July 18 also awarded Cynthia Robinson $16
million in compensatory damages for the 1996 death of her
husband, Michael Johnson, who was 36, her lawyer, Willie Gary,
said in a phone interview.
Robinson originally sued R.J. Reynolds as part of a class
action case against tobacco companies. The original $145 billion
verdict was overturned by the state’s top court, which also
decertified the class and opened the door to individuals to sue
the companies. The court endorsed many jury findings in the
case, including that the companies were negligent, conspired to
hide information about the dangers of smoking and sold defective
products.
Gary said he expects the company, the maker of Camel
cigarettes, to appeal the verdict.
“I don’t know what the judges are going to do,” he said
yesterday. “I hope and suspect that we will keep the verdict.
The jury sent a message.”
Bryan Hatchell, a spokesman for Winston-Salem, North
Carolina-based Reynolds American, didn’t immediately respond to
a phone message yesterday seeking comment on the verdict.
Punitive Awards
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2003 punitive damages
usually should be no more than nine times actual damages. The
court allowed exceptions for especially egregious conduct, and
judges have upheld some punitive awards above the 9-to-1 ratio.
Reynolds American agreed this month to buy Lorillard Inc.
for $25 billion. If the deal is cleared by antitrust regulators,
the transaction will leave the 400-year-old American tobacco
industry with just Reynolds and Altria Group Inc. controlling 90
percent of the market.
The Florida high court’s ruling, known as the Engle
decision after Howard Engle, was reaffirmed last year in a
different case.
Companies including Reynolds American and Altria’s Philip
Morris USA, the biggest cigarette maker, have lost hundreds of
millions of dollars in judgments in post-Engle cases, many of
which are on appeal.
The case is Williams v. R.J. Reynolds, 2008 CA 000098,
Florida First Circuit Court (Pensacola)
For Related News and Information:
Tobacco Companies Rejected by U.S. High Court in Florida Case
NSN MUAWDA6TTDSA <GO>
Florida Tobacco Ruling Applies in Federal Cases, Court Says
NSN MSQAO66KLVR5 <GO>
R.J. Reynolds Loses Bid to Fight Smoker’s Verdict in High Court
NSN M1HWPU1A74E9 <GO>
Top Stories: TOP <GO>
Top legal news: TLAW <GO>
Bloomberg legal resources: BLAW <GO>
--With assistance from Bob Van Voris in federal court in
Manhattan, Margaret Cronin Fisk in Detroit, Jeff Green in
Southfield, Michigan and Anna Edney in Washington.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Michael Hytha in San Francisco at +1-415-617-7137 or
mhytha@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Michael Hytha at +1-415-617-7137 or
mhytha@bloomberg.net
Stephen West
2014-07-20 04:01:01.0 GMT
By Susannah Nesmith
July 20 (Bloomberg) -- A Reynolds American Inc. unit was
ordered by a Florida jury to pay a Pensacola woman $23 billion
in punitive damages for her husband’s death from lung cancer,
her lawyer said.
Since a Florida Supreme Court decision in 2006, individual
plaintiffs in the state have been awarded large verdicts, with
most of those being reduced on appeal.
The jury on July 18 also awarded Cynthia Robinson $16
million in compensatory damages for the 1996 death of her
husband, Michael Johnson, who was 36, her lawyer, Willie Gary,
said in a phone interview.
Robinson originally sued R.J. Reynolds as part of a class
action case against tobacco companies. The original $145 billion
verdict was overturned by the state’s top court, which also
decertified the class and opened the door to individuals to sue
the companies. The court endorsed many jury findings in the
case, including that the companies were negligent, conspired to
hide information about the dangers of smoking and sold defective
products.
Gary said he expects the company, the maker of Camel
cigarettes, to appeal the verdict.
“I don’t know what the judges are going to do,” he said
yesterday. “I hope and suspect that we will keep the verdict.
The jury sent a message.”
Bryan Hatchell, a spokesman for Winston-Salem, North
Carolina-based Reynolds American, didn’t immediately respond to
a phone message yesterday seeking comment on the verdict.
Punitive Awards
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2003 punitive damages
usually should be no more than nine times actual damages. The
court allowed exceptions for especially egregious conduct, and
judges have upheld some punitive awards above the 9-to-1 ratio.
Reynolds American agreed this month to buy Lorillard Inc.
for $25 billion. If the deal is cleared by antitrust regulators,
the transaction will leave the 400-year-old American tobacco
industry with just Reynolds and Altria Group Inc. controlling 90
percent of the market.
The Florida high court’s ruling, known as the Engle
decision after Howard Engle, was reaffirmed last year in a
different case.
Companies including Reynolds American and Altria’s Philip
Morris USA, the biggest cigarette maker, have lost hundreds of
millions of dollars in judgments in post-Engle cases, many of
which are on appeal.
The case is Williams v. R.J. Reynolds, 2008 CA 000098,
Florida First Circuit Court (Pensacola)
For Related News and Information:
Tobacco Companies Rejected by U.S. High Court in Florida Case
NSN MUAWDA6TTDSA <GO>
Florida Tobacco Ruling Applies in Federal Cases, Court Says
NSN MSQAO66KLVR5 <GO>
R.J. Reynolds Loses Bid to Fight Smoker’s Verdict in High Court
NSN M1HWPU1A74E9 <GO>
Top Stories: TOP <GO>
Top legal news: TLAW <GO>
Bloomberg legal resources: BLAW <GO>
--With assistance from Bob Van Voris in federal court in
Manhattan, Margaret Cronin Fisk in Detroit, Jeff Green in
Southfield, Michigan and Anna Edney in Washington.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Michael Hytha in San Francisco at +1-415-617-7137 or
mhytha@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Michael Hytha at +1-415-617-7137 or
mhytha@bloomberg.net
Stephen West