Lexis Legal News : Mealey's Tobacco : Lawsuit Filings, Litigation, Settlements, Verdicts and Court News

Mealey's Tobacco

May 13, 2019
Washington Woman Alleges E-Cigarette Battery Explosion, Fire Disfigured Her

TACOMA, Wash. — A woman who claims that an e-cigarette battery exploded in her pocket and that the subsequent fire permanently disfigured her sued the retailer, distributors and manufacturers in a Washington court on April 29, seeking compensatory and punitive damages (Stephanie Galdarisi v. Vapor St8, et al., No. 19-2-07450-2, Wash. Super., Pierce Co.).
May 13, 2019
Judge Disqualified in Engle Suit; He Had Been Counsel In 19 Tobacco Cases

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — R.J. Reynolds Co. and Philip Morris USA Inc. sufficiently alleged facts that reasonably created fear of not receiving a fair and impartial trial in an Engle progeny case where the judge has a history of being counsel for plaintiffs who sued the tobacco companies, a Florida appellate panel found in a May 6 per curiam opinion that ordered a new judge to be assigned to the case (R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., et al. v. Guy Cuddihee, No. 1D19-0385, Fla. App., 1st Dist., 2019 Fla. App. LEXIS 6862).
May 09, 2019
Florida High Court Asked To Review Engle Holding That Barred Surgeon General Reports

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A smoker’s widow in an amended brief on jurisdiction filed May 6 asked the Florida Supreme Court to review an appellate court finding that U.S. surgeon general reports on smoking are inadmissible as hearsay in reversing a $46.5 million award she had received in an Engle progeny suit and ordering a new trial (Bettye Ryan, et al. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., No. SC18-37, Fla. Sup.).
May 08, 2019
Florida Panel Upholds Judgment, Saying It’s Separate From Engle Punitive Component

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A Florida appellate court on May 6 denied Philip Morris USA’s bid to reduce the punitive damages imposed against it in an Engle progeny case, saying no part of the judgment constituted the punitive damages component of the Engle judgment, and also denied the tobacco company’s appeal for a new trial (Philip Morris USA Inc. v. Veda Bryant, et al., No. 1D18-1053, Fla. App., 1st Dist., 2019 Fla. App. LEXIS 6864).
May 07, 2019
Judge Rejects Most Arguments For Dismissal Of Prison Inmate’s Tobacco Lawsuit

PHILADELPHIA — The pro se lawsuit of a prison inmate with five forms of cancer largely survived motions to dismiss brought by defendants Philip Morris USA Inc. and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., a federal judge in Pennsylvania said in an opinion and order filed April 23, noting that those claims were adequately pleaded at this early stage of the proceedings (David Robinson v. Philip Morris USA, Inc, et al., No. 18-1743, E.D. Pa., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 69013).
May 06, 2019
No Punitive Damages For COPD, Lung Cancer Sufferer, Florida Jury Says

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — In a May 2 verdict, Florida jurors awarded a former smoker who went on to suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer $1.63 million in compensatory damages but deemed her 84 percent responsible for her own health problems (Karla Zingaro v. Philip Morris USA Inc., No. 2007-CV-036438, Fla. 17th Jud. Cir., Broward Co.). VIDEO FROM THE TRIAL IS AVAILABLE
May 02, 2019
U.S. Says Federal Taxation Of Tribal Tobacco Company Does Not Violate Treaty

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. government on May 1 urged the U.S. Supreme Court justices to deny a petition for certiorari because the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals correctly held that a Washington state Indian tobacco company must pay federal excise taxes on its products, despite the language of an 1855 treaty (King Mountain Tobacco Co., Inc. v. United States, No. 18-984, U.S. Sup., 2019 U.S. S. Ct. Briefs LEXIS 1622).
May 01, 2019
Smoker’s Suit Against Tobacco Companies, Walgreens Remanded To Illinois Court

CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois on April 24 found that tobacco retailers were not fraudulently joined to a case brought against both retailers and manufacturers and, because the retailer defendants destroyed complete diversity among the parties, the plaintiff’s motion to remand to state court was appropriate (Sydney M. Mitchell v. Philip Morris USA Inc., et al., No. 18-cv-7739, N.D. Ill., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 69313).
April 30, 2019
Florida Panel Affirms Verdict In Engle Case That Awarded $36M To Smoker’s Widow

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A Florida appellate panel in an April 23 per curiam opinion affirmed a 2017 jury verdict that awarded $36 million in damages to a smoker’s widow in an Engle progeny suit against two tobacco companies (Philip Morris, USA, Inc., et al. v. Fontaine Wallace, No. 5D18-526, Fla. App., 5th Dist, 2019 Fla. App. LEXIS 6318).
April 29, 2019
Judge: Separate Injuries In Engle Case Warrant Wrongful Death And Survival Damages

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A widow is entitled to damages for her husband’s wrongful death from lung cancer and survival damages for other smoking-related injuries that did not cause his death, a federal judge held April 15 in denying a renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law or a new trial, an opinion the judge called his “best guess” as to how the Florida Supreme Court would address the dual-damages issue (Patricia Harris v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., et al., No. 3:09-cv-13482, M.D. Fla., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64297).
April 25, 2019
RICO Violation, Fraud Alleged In Class Action Against Maker Of Juul E-Cigarettes

TAMPA, Fla. — The maker of the popular e-cigarette Juul and its tobacco company investor were sued April 15 in a Florida federal court class action by the parents of a teenager who allege fraud and racketeering in Juul’s product design and marketing to entice their daughter and other children across the nation into becoming lifetime nicotine users (Erin NesSmith, et al. v. Juul Labs Inc., et al., No. 8:19-cv-00884. M.D. Fla.).
April 24, 2019
Smoker’s Widow Wants Florida High Court To Review Reversal Of $5M Punitive Award

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The widow of a smoker has petitioned the Florida Supreme Court to review a divided Court of Appeal opinion that reversed her $5 million punitive damages award, a decision — she argues in her April 22 brief on jurisdiction — that requires review because it illustrates two sets of conflicting rules in many Engle wrongful death cases (Mary E. Sheffield, etc. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., No. SC19-601, Fla. Sup.).
April 22, 2019
Florida Widow Awarded $400,000 In Case Against R.J. Reynolds

QUINCY, Fla. — In an April 18 verdict, an Engle progeny plaintiff won $400,000 in compensatory damages from R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. but was deemed unentitled to punitive damages (Lue Ethel Russ v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., No. 15000042CAA, Fla. 2nd Jud. Cir., Gadsden Co.). VIDEO FROM THE TRIAL IS AVAILABLE.
April 16, 2019
Florida Court Affirms Verdict In Engle Case And Paves Way For Punitive Damages

MIAMI — A Florida appellate court on April 10 affirmed a jury verdict that an addiction to cigarettes caused the throat cancer that killed a longtime smoker and, in reversing a directed verdict in the Engle progeny case, remanded for a new trial solely on the amount of punitive damages (R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company v. Mirtha Ledo, No. 3D17-2328. Fla. App., 3rd Dist., 2019 Fla. App. LEXIS 5519).
April 15, 2019
R.J. Reynolds: Ruling Conflict Requires Florida High Court To Review $21M Award

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A tobacco company that lost its appeal of a $21 million wrongful death jury award petitioned the Florida Supreme Court on March 28 to review the appellate ruling, saying the divided opinion of the state’s Third District Court of Appeal directly conflicts with decisions of Florida’s high court and the First, Fourth and Fifth districts (R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company v. Diane Schleider, as personal representative of the Estate of Andrew Schleider, No. 19-445, Fla. Sup.).
April 15, 2019
Widow Wins $800,000 Punitive Damage Award From Florida Jurors

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Following a December 2017 decision by Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal that ordered a trial on punitive damages, the widow of a smoker on March 19 was awarded $800,000 in an Engle progeny case (Bernice McCall v. Philip Morris USA Inc., No. 2007-CV-036888, Fla. 17th Jud. Cir., Broward Co.). VIDEO FROM THE TRIAL IS AVAILABLE.
April 15, 2019
On Remand, Florida Federal Judge Denies Fee Award In Engle Case

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — In a March 29 order, a Florida federal judge granted, in part, a motion to review taxation of costs by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and denied a renewed motion for attorney fees by an Engle progeny plaintiff (James Smith Jr. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., No. 09-10048, M.D. Fla., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62747).
April 15, 2019
Cigar Makers: FDA’s New Rules For Labels Are Arbitrary, Violate 1st Amendment

WASHINGTON, D.C. — New Food and Drug Administration warnings required in product labeling and advertisements contravene the First Amendment and are arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), tobacco makers and retailers argue in a March 15 motion in federal court in the District of Columbia seeking summary judgment and to make permanent a temporary injunction shielding premium cigars from the new regulations (En Fuego Tobacco Shop LLC, et al. v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, et al., No. 18-1797, D. D.C.).
April 09, 2019
Tobacco Companies: Suit Barred By Statute Of Limitations, Fails To State Claims

PANAMA CITY, Fla. — Philip Morris USA Inc. and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. tell a Florida federal court in a March 14 reply brief that a lawsuit brought by two people seeking damages for injuries they say were caused by smoking cigarettes should be dismissed because it is barred by the statute of limitations and fails to adequately state a claim for strict liability or negligence because neither plaintiff is a member of the Engle v. Ligget Group class action (Pamela Bolds, et al. v. Philip Morris USA Inc., No. 5:18-CV-235, N.D. Fla.).
April 04, 2019
R.J. Reynolds Prevails With Florida Jurors On Claims By Former Smoker

MIAMI — In a verdict rendered April 3, a jury empaneled in the 11th Judicial Circuit Court for Dade County sided with R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., rejecting a plaintiff’s assertion that her coronary artery disease manifested before Nov. 21, 1996 — the cutoff date for membership in the since-decertified Engle class (Mildred Clark v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., et al., No. 08-00231-CA-51, Fla. 11th Jud. Cir., Dade Co.). VIDEO FROM THE TRIAL IS AVAILABLE.