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Escambia Jury Slams RJ Reynolds With $23.6 Billion Verdict
July 20, 2014
An Escambia County Jury has returned a $23.6 billion punitive damage verdict against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.
The jury also awarded Cynthia Robinson an additional $16.8 million in compensatory damages. She filed suit against the tobacco giant in 2009 on behalf of Michael Johnson, Sr., her late husband and longtime smoker who died from lung cancer in 1996 at age 36 after smoked Kool brand cigarettes for years.
The trial took about four weeks to complete, with jury returning the damages about 10:00 Friday night after 18 hours of deliberations.
R.J. Reynolds plans to appeal.
“The damages awarded in this case are grossly excessive and impermissible under state and constitutional law,” J. Jeffery Raborn, vice president and assistant general counsel for R. J. Reynolds, said Saturday in a statement. “This verdict goes far beyond the realm of reasonableness and fairness and is completely inconsistent with the evidence presented. We plan to file post-trial motions with the trial court promptly and are confident that the court will follow the law and not allow this runaway verdict to stand.”
Comments
36 Responses to “Escambia Jury Slams RJ Reynolds With $23.6 Billion Verdict”
The bottom line is that the tobacco companies make products that kill people. How anyone can work for them, invest in them or otherwise support them and sleep at night is beyond understanding.
This entire situation is based on the individual decision to light up a cigarette and allow the poison into your body. I am sorry for her loss but her husband made the decision to smoke even with all of the warnings and evidence that it could kill him. I choose not to smoke but am still exposed to the nasty ill effects of this disgusting habit. Individual responsibility for our actions has to hold a place in society at some point. A simple overhaul of the legal system would solve this tendency to sue because an individual was stupid!!!
I smoked for 25 years. Do you think I could maybe sue the person who held me down for all those years and shoved smokes into my mouth? Been quit for 18 year now, and blame no one but me…………………
This whole thing with the tobacco industry law suits started in 1994 with the Engle Class Action Suit. The plaintiffs in this suit were awarded $145 billion in punitive damages. This was appealed by the industry and the money was not paid until 2000. Then in 2006 the courts ruled that this was “excessive as a matter of law.” While decertifying the class, the state’s highest court said that factual findings made by the jury in the case would be binding in future smoking cases heard in Florida. That meant that jurors in future cases would have to accept that cigarette makers had misled smokers about the dangers and that smoking was addictive. So in Florida if you smoked, develop cancer or other smoking related disorders, it is not your fault. It is the fault of the tobacco industry. So! How much money you want? Not that I agree with this I feel we need to be responsible for our actions.
So where do I sign up to sue those that smoke around me?
Smoking is against the rules where I work. There are designated areas, but still I am confronted with people not obeying the rules. I have often made the statement that if you are smoking where I am then you are not in a designated area, because I won’t be in a designated smoking area.
I have asthma and it is hard enough to breathe some days and these thoughtless people who are killing themselves are trying to take me with them!
So where do I sign up to sue them?
Go to CNN.com to watch an interview with her about the jury’s award. This is sickening. My mother also passed away as an indirect result of smoking her entire life. She also had COPD but me nor anyone in my family ever gave a thought to suing the tobacco companies and my mom was born in 1935 – not 1960 like Mr. Robinson so I can assure you he was made aware of the dangers at a much younger age! I remember in elementary school being told how harmful cigarettes are to your health and I am only three years younger than him so I KNOW he was informed as well. This is nothing but a scam to make money off of his death!
Well even though she was awarded that amount she most likely will never see a dime after the appeals process that will last forever.
As to why tobacco products are not outlawed, existing voters who smoke would vote against any politician who tried.
Further, many politicians smoke. Few try to outlaw their own vices.
Nor should we forget, President Obama smokes.
If HE can’t stop smoking, think of millions of less principled people needing a nicotine fix. Some would kill to get it.
And that brings up the concept of principles. Limitations on personal freedom should be considered verrrry carefully. Most ignore individual freedom by citing the greater good and the self-imposed expenses of treating suicidal actions
My father knew the dangers and continued anyway. It was his choice and we miss him but he was not a slave to others, only his self-imposed addiction.
Nicotine via vapor provides the fix without most of the toxins and with greatly reduced danger to others.
Lookout Whataburger,…..that biscuit -n- gravy is running my blood pressure up….this verdict is as stupid as the rest of our country, goin to hell in a hand basket……….messed up as a chicken-soup sandwich!!!!!
@Todd
Just because you don’t understand something doesn’t mean you have to shun it because it’s different. I will take a plastic stick hanging out of my mouth as opposed to a hole in my throat, complete with a Darth Vader voice box (or worse.) Those people that you see vaping have found a safer alternative to smoking and I applaud them for being able to make the switch. Although a few big tobacco companies have purchased e-cigarette businesses such as Blu, the e-juices are not made or supplied by tobacco companies, but rather smaller organizations that are fighting the FDA to separate vaping from smoking.
It’s not even close to being the same thing (other than nicotine and a cloud of white vapor that looks like smoke) and should not be labeled or taxed like tobacco. It has no offensive smell and second-hand vapor is non-existent. The e-juice contains only 5 ingredients as opposed to cigarettes, which have about 600 ingredients of which 69 are known to cause cancer. When cumbustion happens, those 600 ingredients produce about 7,000 chemicals and poisons being inhaled.
I smoked cigarettes for nearly 20 years. I made the switch to vaping, never looked back and have not had a cigarette in almost 2 years. Vaping changed me for the better and probably saved my life. It could do the same for many others as well.
For those of you who may wonder why states do not ban cigarettes & other tobacco products, the answer is $$$ BILLIONS they would lose in tax money. While some politicians appear to publicly decry smokers & smoking, they secretly are in a panic at the thought of losing that giant pot of tax money, should it ever happen. The last time my home state of NY raised their cigarette tax (in the guise of getting smokers to quit) they were planning on a yearly increase of about 450 MILLION dollars tax revenue, IN ADDITION to what was already being collected yearly in taxes. Now tell me they really care about peoples health problems from smoking. That revenue far exceeds the cost of additional medical costs to the state.
Can’t wait to see who gets sued for all of the belly-fat on people these days.
No one makes anyone, eat, drink or smoke or take any drug. The courts know it.
Now they have decided it is ok to smoke marijuana in some states. Will the users families be suing those companies too? This lawsuit is stupid.
I have a hard time believing that cigarettes and even allowed to be sold..
With all of the chemical additives to get you addicted, they’re killin people by the thousands and over running our hospitals with health related injuries.
These lawsuits are making lawyers plenty of money tho so I guess all is well
We all know if ya follow the dollar you will see how the lobbyist buy our politicians at a cost to the average citizen.. We all pay one way or another.. Higher insurance.. Higher taxes and subpar health care because they’re overwhelmed by the end result.. And make sure ya don’t ever get caught with a natural herb that God put on this planet.. Ya just might end up in jail over that.
The way to stop the tobacco companies is not to sue them. That’s small change as far as they are concerned. The way to stop them is to NOT buy their products. Bankruptcy would loom in a few months and they would have to close their doors. The problem is that it is a lucrative business because of the people who buy the products. Don’t buy the stuff!
He was 36 when he died in 1996, he knew how bad it was all the warnings were out by the time he started smoking. Why did she wait 13 years to file a lawsuit. If it bothered her that bad she would have filed right after his death. People were filing lawsuit againist the tobacco industry back then. These lawsuits didn’t just start in 2009. It was his choice to smoke, no one put a gun to his head to start or to keep smoking. Is it hard to quit, YES, but it can be done. A person has to want to quit and her late husband didn’t want to quit.
So this woman is now one of the top 30 richest people in the world because her husband smoked and then got cancer?
@molino jim
She probably did by them for him once or twice, now whats probably going to happen is those greedy lawyers are going to take at least half of her money and run.
I wonder how many lawyers spend some of their loot to get legislation passed against tobacco makers.
Angela I admire you for taking responsibility for your personal actions.
Blaming is a poor defense mechanism and unfortunately one of the most prevalent.
I smoked until I retired from the military and now have no use for nicotine.
Wondering who the LAWYER’s where that represented them, they will be making out like a BANDIT with there 40% cut of whatever the pay out will be?
We should of learned from the INDIANS that smoking the PEACE pipe with them INDIANS wasn’t GOOD 4 YOU?
Banning cigarettes or just the nicotine won’t do anything. It didn’t work for alcohol or other drugs. Drugs are readily available to anyone who wants them. All banning vices does is change who gets the money from big corporations to criminals. There are already big black markets for cigarettes in places where the taxes are so high.
I was in the jury pool for one of these cases. Their argument is that these people got hooked back in the 30s and 40s before the warning labels were on the packs. The smoker in the case died at 80. My grandmother died at 65 and never smoked so I had no sympathy. I was dismissed.
My vice is too much sugar. So maybe if I die of diabetes my descendants can get rich off of Domino and Dixie Crystal.
I have loved ones that smoke so don’t think by my sarcasm that I don’t care about those that suffer. I do.
As amazed as I am about the size of this award, I am more amazed that people continue to smoke in 2014.
That warning that everyone is talking about wasn’t always on the package. Some of the people that started smoking did so when there was no Warning. The advertising use to glorify smoking.
Yes, that’s right Todd, one cigarette & you are hooked for life, after that you just can’t help yourself, you must have them. Sorry about your family member, but give me a break on your “evil tobacco companies” mindset.
I’m not defending those companies, but they never forced anyone to smoke. The thing I would stand up for is the freedom of choice that still exists in America, despite
the “let’s ban anything that might be bad for ya” bleeding heart liberal agenda.
As a person who has lost multiple family members to smoking and it’s associated diseases, this lawsuit is ridiculous. She waited 13 years to file this suit? Society has known the dangers of smoking for decades. While it is not easy to quit, it can be done. I come from a family with a history of addiction to many things, yet I manage to quit a 15 year smoking habit.
The $23 billion award makes me think this is a class action lawsuit of sorts. But it’s a big FAIL. I don’t think tobacco companies should get off scott-free, but people need to accept responsibility for the consequences of their actions. The jury just made a millionaire out of this woman. Punitive damages, my foot. I’m a realist… It’s all about the money. Especially 20 years after her husband’s death.
Does this mean I can sue the beer/alcohol companies for the alcohol related death of one of my family members? Or the drug companies since another family died from overdose on prescription medications?
Sorry hear of your loss. However, warning labels have been on every pack of smokes since 1964. We have to have some accountability for our own decision-making.
What’s worse is the growing number of teens that have continued to ignore all warnings via the cigarettes packages and numerous other forms of media.
It could only be possibly a “slow death wish” or “it won’t happen to me” mindset.
No other legally manufactured product will make you so very ill for so long before killing you.
How can I secure that jury for my suit against fast food.
They say eating it isn’t good for me…….
But I’m addicted.
I completely understand your points. I should say I’m probably one of the most conservative people you would ever meet and I’m not ever excited when the government chooses what they believe is best for us. I also despise runaway juries and ridiculous verdicts ( I’m in the insurance business). I also have no illusions a verdict such as this would ever stand. Ideally in cases like this whatever the verdict the family should receive a reasonable reimbursement of any loss due to the harmful product, the attorney should receive costs only and the rest of the award should be used to finance education and prevention. Nicotine is addictive and like most addictive products is easier for those without a predisposition to the illness of addiction to overcome. If it weren’t addictive we wouldn’t see people now buying it in liquid formstanding around “vaping” with a ridiculous plastic stick hanging from their mouths. Require the tobacco company to remove nicotine and see how many people continue to smoke.
@Todd- I watched my grandfather bleed to death when a lung cancer started to hemorrhage, so I know what it’s like. The dumb part for me was I stared smoking when I went in the military. My wife and I smoked for years and one day we talked about why we were doing it. Our friends smoked so we did. We counted up the cost per pack. We knew we smelled of tobacco. We had burn spots on clothing from the ashes. We said it wasn’t worth the cost to our health also. We both went cold turkey and never looked back or changed our minds. Yes tobacco is bad for you, but so is alcohol and many drugs. The smokers who will not stop bring it upon their selves as to what happens. I see young people smoking and feel sorry for them because I know the end result. To award this amount is wrong. I wonder if she bought his cigarettes for him?
Re; Todd (as all say READ THE PACKAGE) I have had several die from it ,, Each and everyone CHOOSE the right to smoke,, DO I miss them yes, do I blame anyone but them no,, I too smoked 20 years stopped in 1991 and glad I did, but no where do I blame anyone but me for my actions,,, All this law suit does is start a longer line at unemployment plus will have the whole Country jumping on band wagon,, I hope they appeal and reverse the verdict,, (If I was on jury I would reverse it) The only people need to be sued for smoking are the ones that do it in car or house with kids
By the way COPD killed my dad in 2008. It’s a nasty painful death.
Until you have a family member die because of these murderous products you won’t understand. To say you or anyone else chooses to put a smoking stick in their mouth and inhale poisons and carcinogens is ridiculous. Maybe the first time is.your choice but to know the dangers and still be impelled to partake in this disgusting HABIT is because of the addictive nature of the product. Go ahead and continue allowing these multi billion dollar companies to make and keep you in physical and financial slavery. They need to be put out of business. Tell me one redeeming quality for which we should continue allowing cigarettes to exist in our society.
This makes me sick!
With regard to the jury, this goes right along with mindset of a certain group of people we are all dealing with today. It’s easy to give someone else’s money away.
With regard to smokers, both of my parents died from smoking. My dad died in 1996 (he smoked Kools, by the way), maybe I should run right out and get a lawyer so that I can set myself and my children up for life on someone else’s dime! I would have a hard time proving my case though. My parents were not stupid…they were adults, they could read the warning labels, they could hear my pleas, but they didn’t care.
The courts have found a patsy in the tobacco companies. What about the lives that are affected daily because of alcohol? And, why is it okay to inhale one type of smoke into your lungs and not another? If you get into trouble, be careful who is chosen for your jury! Whose money do they live off of!
This is absolutely ludicrous! I’m sorry for her loss, but it was nobody’s fault but his own. Everyone knows that smoking can cause a plethora of illnesses, including lung cancer. Were the jurors promised a cut of the “compensatory damages” or something?
Maybe she should’ve looked for a safer alternative to his smoking (like e-cigarettes, vaping, etc.) while he was still with her instead of buying cigarettes for him. I don’t support big tobacco under most circumstances, but would definitely have to side with them on this verdict.
SMOKE, not nicotine, causes 99% of smoking-related diseases. Wise up, people. It’s time to find a safer alternative for your nicotine addiction.
Thats ridiculous, I cant imagin anyone from that company holding a gun to her late husbands head making him smoke. I smoked on an off from 1983 until 2012. I have asthma and COPD. I, I alone bought those cigarettes, packed them, took one out, lit it up, put it to my mouth and inhaled. It was my poor judgment, no ones else. I smoked because I liked it, not because I was addicted to nicotine. Because February 2012 at lunch I was smoking and at tha moment I said I dont eant to smoke anymore, because I have asthma and just diagnosed with COPD, so I threw away my pack and havent touched one since. So its ridiculous awarding that much money for her late husbands choice. Figure what he would have made on his job and retirement, award that. Just my opinion!
It sez right on the package “May Cause Lung Cancer”? And he kept smoking them? And the cigarette company is responsible after he had been warned?
How’s that work? I feel bad for the guy, but still, I don’t see how the company owes anybody for their bad habits, esp when it sez right on the box what bad things will happen with the use of the stuff. Freedom comes with responsibility, you get to make your own choices & you must live (or die) with them.
You can’t be of a mind of “I’m gonna do what I want & damn the consequences”, then start looking for a scapegoat when things go wrong. Things stop working that way when you turn 18, or thereabouts.