Florida court of appeal affirms $28.3 million verdict against R.J. Reynolds; explicitly rejects RJR’s attempt to “essentially nullify” Florida Supreme Court’s 2006 decision in Engle
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Edward L. Sweda, Jr. or Mark Gottlieb (617) 373-8462 or (617) 373-2026 In a resounding defeat for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., the First District Court of Appeal of Florida affirmed a jury’s award of $5 million in compensatory damages (later reduced by the trial judge to $3.3. million because the jury […]
New Hampshire Court Grants Class Certification for Plaintiffs in a Light Cigarettes Class Action Lawsuit against Philip Morris
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : November 23, 2010 Contact: Edward L. Sweda, Jr. 617-373-8462 or 857-753-9560 A New Hampshire state court on Monday granted a motion to certify a class action in a lawsuit brought under that state’s Consumer Protection Act (CPA) in the case of Lawrence et al. v. Philip Morris, USA, Inc. The ruling […]
Yet another plaintiff’s verdict in Florida: Piendle v. RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co. et al.
August 5, 2010 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Edward L. Sweda or Mark Gottlieb (617) 373-8462 or (617) 373-2026 A Palm Beach, Florida jury today returned a verdict of $2.2. million against Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds, on behalf of Liz Piendle, the widow of Charles Piendle, who died from lung cancer in 1996 at the […]
Report on Altria Group, Inc.’s Annual Shareholders Meeting – Richmond, Virginia, May 20, 2010
By Edward L. Sweda, Jr., Senior Attorney- PHAI DEATH PENALTY On May 20, 2010, the Commonwealth of Virginia executed Darick Demorris Walker, who had been convicted of murdering Stanley Beale in 1996 and Clarence Elwood Threat in 1997. Also on May 20, 2010, the Altria Group, Inc. Annual Shareholders Meeting took place in Richmond, Virginia. […]
More Florida Verdicts against Cigarette Companies – Buonomo
On May 20, 2010 after a three-week trial, a six-person Fort Lauderdale, Florida jury returned a verdict in favor of Connie Buonomo, the widow of Matthew Buonomo, who died from chronic obstructive lung disease in 2008 at the age of 80.Mr. Buonomo had started smoking as a teenager. The defendant, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. was […]
Louisiana Court of Appeals Orders Tobacco Companies to Pay Over $230 Million for Court-Approved Smoking Cessation Program
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Edward L. Sweda or Mark Gottlieb (617) 373-8462 or (617) 373-2026 Nearly fourteen years after the lawsuit was originally filed, the Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit on Friday affirmed a trial court judgment in Scott v. American Tobacco Co., et al., that the major American tobacco companies must fund […]
Tobacco Products Liability Project hails $244 million punitive damages award against Philip Morris as “entirely proportionate to the level of reprehensible misconduct by the company”
Jury Hits Philip Morris with $300 Million Verdict in Individual Trial in Florida – 8th Verdict for Florida Plaintiffs this Year.