Tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds was ordered on Tuesday to pay $80 million to the daughter of a longtime smoker who died of lung cancer.
Diane Webb, the daughter of James Cayce Horner,was awarded $8 million in compensatory damages and a whopping $72 million in punitive damages by a state court jury in Bronson, Fla. Horner began smoking in the 1930s, when he was a teenager, and eventually got up to two packs a day before dying in 1996, at the age of 78.
The eye-popping award came just four days after another Florida jury, that one in Miami Dade County, gave rival tobacco company Philip Morris its "sixth consecutive defense verdict ... in the Engle progeny cases, as the company triumphantly described it in a press release.
In a statement posted to its website, Philip Morris boasted that the decision, "the eighth defense verdict for the industry since the end of August, was proof that "juries throughout the state of Florida recognize that smokers are responsible for their own smoking choices.
But judging by the outcome of the Horner case, Philip Morris spoke just barely too soon.
Lasting impact of Engle
Both cases stem from Engle v. R.J. Reynolds, a one-time class action that was decertified by the Florida Supreme Court in 2006. As a result of that decision, many Engle class members have been filing suit individually, flooding the Florida judicial system with thousands of tobacco-related cases.
Although the Engle class action itself was unsuccessful, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that jurors in future cases had to accept certain factual findings, including that cigarette manufacturers misled consumers about the dangers of smoking. That decision, while still holding some force, was scaled back by a federal appeals court in July. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals said that tobacco plaintiffs must show that relevant issues in their own case were "actually decided by the Engle jury.
Howard Engle, the lead plaintiff in that case, died in 2009, at the age of 89. He smoked "multiple packs of cigarettes daily from the time he was in college until his death, according to his obituary in The New York Times.
Horner contributorily negligent
The jury in Horner's case found that he bore 10 percent of the responsibility for his smoking, a figure that will reduce his daughter's compensatory damages by the same amount. Like most states, Florida has a scheme of so-called "comparative negligence, under which a plaintiff's award is reduced by his or her own level of negligence.
"The truth about this industry remains an eye-opening tale of arrogance and disdain for public health, said David Sales, the plaintiff's attorney, in a statement posted to his firm's website. "People need to be reminded, again and again, of the true cost -- in precious human life -- that R.J. Reynolds has imposed and continues to impose on our society.
The statement says that Horner's case "was the firm's fourth Engle trial and fourth victory.
R.J. Reynolds spokesman David Howard said the company is "disappointed with the jury's decision in the matter and we will appeal.
