A Florida jury on November 19 awarded Cindy Naugle, a former smoker with
emphysema, $56 million in compensatory damages and $244 million in punitive
damages for its negligence in causing Ms. Naugle’s disease.
The case was formerly a part of a class action. A trial was held on the
class action, but a 2006 decision by the Florida Supreme Court decertified
the class, allowing each member of the class to file his or her own lawsuit.
In those individual cases the court held that the finding of liability
by the jury in the class action would also establish liability in the
individual cases. Each plaintiff, however, still had to prove that the
addiction to smoking caused the disease. Defense attorneys claim that
it was the smoker’s voluntary decision to smoke that caused the
disease. They further claim that it is unfair to allow the jury’s
finding of liability in the class action trial to be used by the individual
plaintiffs.
In February, a jury ordered Philip Morris to pay $8million in damages.
In August, R.J. Reynolds lost a $30 million verdict. The attorney for
Cindy Naugle put on evidence to show the actual worth of Philip Morris
far exceeded the amount claimed by it. He attributes the large verdict
to the fact that, while Phillip Morris claimed it was worth $1.7 billion,
Ms. Naugle’s attorney proved that in the first three quarters of
2009, Philip Morris paid $3.1 billion in dividends to Altria, its parent company,
It is expected that the Naugle verdict will be appealed, a process that
will probably take years.
It is unknown how many Colorado residents, if any, have suits pending
against a tobacco company.
Florida Jury Awards Ex-Smoker $300 Million in Damages
Posted By
The Gilbert Law Group