Florida Panel Defines Residency Requirement For Engle Progeny Cases

Mealey's (September 14, 2018, 12:42 PM EDT) -- MIAMI — In what it deemed an issue of first impression, Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal on Sept. 12 concluded that the phrase “[a]ll Florida citizens and residents” as it appears in R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Engle, 672 So. 2d 39, 40 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996) (Engle I), requires a showing that at the time of manifestation or diagnosis of a smoking-related disease, a decedent must have resided in or been a citizen of Florida to qualify as an Engle class member (Elsa Chacon v. Philip Morris USA Inc., No. 3D16-2330, Fla. App. 3rd Dist., 2018 Fla. App. LEXIS 12792)....