Posts Tagged ‘ Philip Morris ’

You can sue Tobacco, but it may cost you

January 13th, 2010. By AbiK

If you’ve been keeping up with the news on smoking lawsuits, you’ll know that Florida is the hotbed for action right now. Ever since the Florida Supreme Court threw out a $145 billion judgement against Philip Morris et al in 2006, the road has been opened up for smokers to file individual lawsuits against the tobacco company.

And so they have. But there’s a twist here.

Just yesterday, we learned that ex-smoker Jerome Cohen dropped his lawsuit against Philip Morris. Any time someone—a former smoker—drops their lawsuit against a tobacco company you begin to wonder why. Well, in this instance, Cohen’s lawyer, Philip Gerson, was quoted in the Associated Press as saying that Cohen’s health was the issue—he has lung cancer.

But other reports bring up another little-known—or little publicized—issue: in Florida, if a plaintiff refuses a settlement offer, continues on with their case and loses—or, according to smokersinfo.net, wins a judgement of at least 25 percent less than the defendant’s original offer, the defendant may seek attorney fees and costs from the plaintiff.

And that can be mucho dinero. Altria, the parent company of Philip Morris, said in a statement earlier in the week that two other Florida smokers recently had to cough up $100,000 and $30,000 respectively—to Philip Morris—upon losing their cases.

Hard to imagine, but true. And that may well give pause to some indivduals who might otherwise file a lawsuit against Philip Morris.

I tend to look at the consequences of smoking as a mixed responsibility thing—that is, if you started smoking prior to Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Florida, Philip Morris, tobacco
Posted in Personal Injury | 24 Comments »

7 Game-Changing Settlements of 2009

December 15th, 2009. By Kristine B

We’re in the countdown to year-end and looking over some of the more impactful settlements LawyersAndSettlements.com has covered over the past year. When we’re talking impactful, everyone around here has an opinion—so we had to throw in some criteria. To get the nod for impact, a settlement had to be one of two things: 1. High dollar value; or 2. Precedent-setting—or at least have the potential to influence similar cases to follow. (Sounds simple, but you try getting Stephen, John, Jaime, Michelle and Ben to settle in on just 7 settlements with just those criteria…) So here we go…7 game-changing settlements for ’09…

1) Family takes on GlaxoSmithKline  

Michelle David filed a lawsuit against GlaxoSmithKline, alleging the company’s antidepressant, Paxil was responsible for her son’s birth defects. David said she had taken Paxil while pregnant and was not aware of the potential side effects. GlaxoSmithKline said that birth defects occur in between three and five percent of all live births, regardless of Paxil use. 

A jury found, in a 10-2 decision, that GlaxoSmithKline’s officials were negligent in failing to warn David’s doctor about the risks of Paxil. The jury also found that Paxil was a factual cause of the little boy’s heart problems. David was awarded $2.5 million.

Why it’s impactful:There are 600 or so lawsuits alleging Paxil caused birth defects waiting in Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Asbestos, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Philip Morris, Wal-Mart, Wyeth
Posted in Settlement | No Comments »

Landmark Ruling Awards Florida Smoker $300 Million

November 21st, 2009. By Hunter West

Fort Lauderdale, FL: A landmark ruling by a jury in Fort Lauderdale late Thursday could set the stage for additional personal injury lawsuits after a Florida woman was awarded $300 million in a tobacco lawsuit. Provided the verdict survives an assumed appeal by defendant Philip Morris, the award represents the largest single award to an individual suing a tobacco company.

Lucinda Naugle was 20 when she started smoking, a habit she maintained for 25 years before finally quitting at the age of 45. Now 61, Naugle suffers from severe emphysema and requires a lung transplant she can’t afford.

If she lives long enough to see an end to the appeal process, Naugle would have more than enough to fund her surgery. The sister of a former Fort Lauderdale mayor was awarded $56 million in compensatory damages and $244 million in punitive damages. Following three hours of deliberation after a three-week trial, the jury assessed liability to Naugle at 10 percent, whereas Philip Morris was saddled with 90 percent.

Altria Group, the parent company of Philip Morris based in Virginia, indicated that it would appeal the verdict. A spokesperson called the Florida rules “fundamentally unfair and unconstitutional.”

Lawsuits against tobacco companies are not unique, especially since 1998 when the seven largest tobacco companies agreed to fork over $206 billion in a master settlement agreement with 46 states.

Florida was one of those states. However, what sets Florida apart is a major legal ruling three years ago that makes it easier for individuals to sue tobacco companies, by way of the lowering of the burden of proof.

In 2006 the Florida Supreme Court rejected a class-action verdict and an award totaling $145 billion to plaintiffs, stating that plaintiffs would have to litigate individually. However-and this is the important caveat-the court dictated that plaintiffs would not be required to prove some key elements that had been upheld in the first stage of the class action: namely that nicotine is addictive, that smoking causes diseases and that cigarette companies fraudulently withheld those facts.

“That makes Florida unique,” said Clifford Douglas of the University of Michigan Tobacco Research Network, in comments published yesterday in the New York Times.

Naugle’s legal counsel told the New York Times that 25 additional cases would go to trial in Florida next year. In all, more than 9,000 people from the former class action have filed individual lawsuits in various Florida courts. Approximately 4,000 of those cases were filed in federal court and have been stayed pending a review scheduled for early next year.

A tobacco analyst for Morgan Stanley said that the tobacco industry could afford several hundred million dollars a year in legal losses. “That is a financially manageable issue,” David Adelman said.

Tags: Altria Group, Clifford Douglas, David Adelman, Lucinda Naugle, Morgan Stanley, Philip Morris, University of Michigan Tobacco Research Network
Posted in Personal Injury | No Comments »