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The Supreme Court of Florida Decision – July 6, 2006
In its final decision on the appeal of $145 billion settlement of the Engle Class action lawsuit, the Florida Supreme Court has ruled that individuals who have been harmed by cigarette smoking may bring suit against the major cigarette manufacturers. Although the ruling states, “the continued class action treatment is not feasible”, it goes on to state, “individual plaintiffs within the class will be permitted to proceed individually.” In order to be considered within the class, the individual must have been named in the original class action lawsuit and has been allowed one year within which to file an individual lawsuit.
In any individual’s suit against the tobacco companies, the Court agreed that the following facts are already established:
- Smoking cigarettes causes aortic aneurysm, bladder cancer, cerebrovascular disease, cervical cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary heart disease, esophageal cancer, kidney cancer, laryngeal cancer, lung cancer (specifically, adenocarinoma, large cell carcinoma, small cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma), complications of pregnancy, oral cavity/tongue cancer, pancreatic cancer, peripheral vascular disease, pharyngeal cancer, and stomach cancer)
- Nicotine in cigarettes is addictive.
- The defendants placed cigarettes on the market that were defective and unreasonably dangerous.
- The defendants concealed or omitted material information not otherwise known or available knowing that the material was false or misleading or failed to disclose a material fact concerning the health effects of addictive nature of smoking cigarettes or both.
- All of the defendants agreed to misrepresent information relating to the health effects of cigarettes or the addictive nature of cigarettes with the intention that smokers and the public would rely on this information to their detriment.
- All of the defendants sold or supplied cigarettes that were defective.
- All of the defendants were negligent.
The complete Decision can be found at:
www.floridasupremecourt.org/decisions/w006/sc03-1856.
Wooten, Honeywell, Kimbrough, Gibson, Doherty and Normand, P. A.
is accepting cases for tobacco related illnesses. If you or some you know has suffered from tobacco related illness, please contact our firm.
As stated in a press release from the Tobacco Products Liability Project (TPLP), Edward L. Sweda, Jr., Senior Attorney for TPLP observed: "Today’s ruling is a major victory for injured Florida smokers since there now exists a viable and streamlined approach to litigation against the tobacco companies – with the prospect of both compensatory and punitive damages. Much of what would need to be proved to establish punitive damages, i.e., reprehensible industry misconduct, is now established as part of the Phase I Findings. Keeping in mind that the May 2003 ruling by the Third District Court of Appeal had completely wiped out the entire Engle case and eliminated all remedies for injured Florida smokers, we are delighted that the Florida Supreme Court ruled that, after approving the reversal of the $145 punitive damages award, “we quash the remainder of the Third District’s decision.”
TPLP
“Back in 1984, when we founded the Tobacco Products Liability Project, the idea of using litigation to fight tobacco companies seemed ludicrous to many people. Now after years in the ‘desert,’ we are finally seeing a tremendous shift against the tobacco industry. We are committed to this fight, and I am confident that we can succeed in keeping the tobacco industry from addicting yet another generation.”
-- Professor Richard A. Daynard
You can learn more about the TPLP and find its complete press release at -
www.tobacco.neu.edu/litigation/cases/pressreleases/
ENGLEVFLSUPCT2006.htm
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