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RJR Faces Punitive Damages After Verdict In Cigarette Case
Law360 (June 10, 2021, 5:30 PM EDT) A Florida jury found R.J. Reynolds partially liable Thursday for lung disease that caused $540,000 in damages to an entrepreneur and Winstons smoker, saying the man was 70% at fault for his injuries but nevertheless sending the case to a punitive damages phase.
The jury in Palm Beach County said that Lloyd Spurlock, who developed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease before he died in 2013, could at least partially blame RJR for his lung disease.
The jury found that Spurlock relied on at least one statement made in furtherance of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. s agreement to conceal or omit material information not.
A proposal by Gov. Roy Cooper to invest a portion of federal American Rescue Plan money into neglected, storied race tracks is met with enthusiasm in deep red Wilkes County.
Justices on Wednesday will hear an appeal by the estate of a man who died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A Duval County jury awarded $6.4 million in compensatory damages, but an appeals court overturned the decision.
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Arguments involve allegations that the tobacco industry conspired to conceal info about smoking. More broadly, companies want justices to reconsider the decision that spurred the torrent of litigation. Nearly 15 years after a Florida Supreme Court decision unleashed thousands of lawsuits against the tobacco industry, justices next week will consider a case that could make it harder to successfully sue cigarette makers.
The court will hear arguments in a case that focuses on a major issue involving allegations that the tobacco industry conspired to conceal information about smoking. But more broadly, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and Philip Morris USA are seeking to use the case to convince justices to reconsider the underlying 2006 decision that spurred the torrent of litigation.