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Florida Man Wins
Almost $2 Million In Case Vs Philip Morris USA
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
August 14, 2009
A Florida man who said his wife died of lung cancer
at 73 years old won just under $2 million in liability
case against Philip Morris USA, a unit of Altria Group
Inc. (MO).
Schlesinger Law Firm, which represented
Leon Barbanell, said its case drew on findings from
the 1994 Engle class-action case, which the Florida
Supreme Court decertified in 2006. However, the state's
high court allowed class members to bring individual
lawsuits relying on the findings.
Among the findings that supported Barbanell's
case were that Philip Morris had been found negligent,
its products were defective and unreasonably dangerous,
nicotine is addictive, and the company conspired to
conceal information regarding the health effects of
smoking, attorney Jonathan Gdanski said.
The plaintiff law firm acknowledged the
jury found Shirley Barbanell mostly responsible for
her death but said the cigarette maker was more than
a third responsible.
A Philip Morris representative confirmed
by telephone that the exact percentage of liability
was 37.5%, reducing the overall $5.3 million in damages
to the final amount.
Altria Associate General Counsel Murray
Garnick decried the ruling, saying in a prepared statement,
"From beginning to end, this case was marked by
legal rulings that should be reversed on appeal, including
allowing this jury to rely almost exclusively on findings
by a prior jury that have no direct connection with
the plaintiff in this case."
The company also noted that the trial
court previously ruled the plaintiff wasn't entitled
to punitive damages because he couldn't prove his wife
had relied on any alleged concealment.
-By Jay Miller, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2355;
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954.777.1111
