SUPREME COURT HOLDS TOBACCO COMPANIES' FEET TO THE FIRE

By Jason D. Weisser

The Supreme Court of the State of Florida recently decided the landmark case of Engle v. Liggett Group, Inc., ending 10 years of litigation regarding the class action claim of cigarette smokers against the cigarette companies for smoking-related injuries. The decision by the Florida Supreme Court established that five major tobacco companies, most notably R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Phillip Morris Company and Lorillard Tobacco Company placed cigarettes into the marketplace that were defective and unreasonably dangerous. The year-long trial established that the aforementioned cigarette companies knew that nicotine in cigarettes was addictive and caused numerous health issues and concealed this information from the public. These cigarette companies committed this deception knowing that the public would rely on this information to their detriment. Additionally, the Court found that smoking cigarettes caused a host of health problems and diseases, most notably lung cancer, throat cancer, stomach cancer, bladder cancer, cervical cancer, laryngeal cancer, pancreatic cancer, peripheral vascular disease, coronary heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, to name a few.

The decision by the Florida Supreme Court in Engle decertified the class that had been established in the original Engle case, primarily because of the individualized issues regarding causation of injuries, and that damages for each claimant differed so greatly. The Supreme Court, in its Order, opened the door for people who suffered from the various diseases caused by cigarette smoking to bring their own individual claims against the respective tobacco company, between July 6, 2006 and July 5, 2007.

The good news for victims of illnesses caused by cigarette smoking was the Court's finding that the jury in the Engle case correctly found against the tobacco companies regarding general causation, strict liability, fraud by concealment, civil conspiracy/misrepresenation/ concealment, breach of implied warranty and negligence. After decertifying the class, the Court held that all Florida residents who fit the class description (meaning a person's condition had to have shown symptoms prior to November 21, 1996) would qualify to bring individual claims against the defendant tobacco companies. Most important, these individual plaintiffs would not need to re-prove the allegations identified above, as they would be considered already proven in all subsequent trials between individual class members and the tobacco companies. In essence, the Court allows individuals who file their claims between July 7, 2006 and January 8, 2008 to bring suit against the tobacco companies without the necessity of re-proving the allegations of general causation, cigarette addiction, strict liability, fraud, breach of implied warranty and negligence.

The Court reversed the jury's award of $145 billion in punitive damages against the tobacco companies. The Court ruled that the punitive damage award was excessive as a matter of law and that there was failure to prove a reliance as well as causation on behalf of the class members to warrant an entitlement to the punitive damage award.

This landmark case allows for victims of ailments caused by cigarette smoking to help bring the tobacco companies to court without having to re-litigate these issues which took approximately one year to try and more than a decade to litigate with appeals. After years of defrauding the public, and causing countless victims of cigarette smoking to be subjected to horrific disease, the tobacco companies are finally having their feet held to the fire.

At Schuler, Halvorson, Weisser and Zoeller, PA, we are representing hundreds of victims of ailments caused by cigarette smoking in order to insure that their day in court is protected. If you or a loved one has suffered from any of the ailments identified in this article as a result of cigarette smoking, we urge you to contact us so that we can review your eligibility to pursue a claim against the tobacco companies.