R.J. Reynolds Loses $46.3 Million Smoker's Verdict

Source from:  Bloomberg 04/22/2010

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., the second-biggest U.S. cigarette maker, must pay $46.3 million to the widow of a Florida man who died from lung cancer in 1995, a jury in Gainesville, Florida, decided today. Six state-court jurors voted unanimously in favor of Lyantie Townsend, the widow of Frank Townsend, who took up smoking at age 13 or 14, according to Greg Prysock, the winning lawyer in the case. The verdict is the latest in favor of a Florida smoker following a 2006 Florida Supreme Court decision in the "Engle" case, which allowed smokers to file individual suits after the court decertified a statewide class-action case. Smokers and their families have won 13 verdicts in 15 trials in these post-Engle cases, including five in March and April, according to Edward Sweda, senior staff attorney for the anti-smoking Tobacco Products Liability Project. The jurors in Gainesville today returned a verdict of $10.8 million in compensatory damages plus $80 million in punitive damages, Prysock said. Because jurors found Townsend 49 percent responsible for his illness and death, R.J. Reynolds must pay 51 percent, or $46.3 million. "We're disappointed with the jury's verdict and plan to appeal," said Reynolds spokesman David Howard. The case is Townsend v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 08-CA- 131, Florida Circuit Court (Gainesville). Enditem