Tobacco Litigation
The Florida Supreme Court recently ruled that smoking cases
are highly individual, making class action suits unsuitable, but said
individual claims can be brought against cigarette manufacturers. On July
6, 2006, the court threw out a class action verdict of $145 billion against
the defendants, but upheld two multimillion-dollar individual damage awards
to Florida smoking victims.
This is probably the most damaging written court decision on record against
the tobacco industry. The court also approved many important findings
that confirm the link between smoking and life-threatening diseases and
that hold the tobacco companies responsible for withholding the dangers
of smoking.
In its ruling, the Florida Supreme Court ratified many important findings
of the lower courts, which without a doubt show the dangers of cigarette
smoking and the intentional behavior of the tobacco industry. This may
result in the liability of the tobacco companies to individuals who fall
into categories as outlined by the court.
This means that any new case filed in Florida on behalf of a person who
was a resident on or before November 21, 1996, and who suffered from one
of the specified medical conditions below can begin his/her suit with
the following claims already proven:
That smoking cigarettes causes aortic aneurysm, bladder cancer, cerebrovascular
disease, cervical cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary
heart disease, esophageal cancer, kidney cancer, laryngeal cancer, lung
cancer (specifically, adenocarinoma, large cell carcinoma, small cell carcinoma,
and squamous cell carcinoma), and complications of pregnancy, oral cavity/tongue
cancer, pancreatic cancer, peripheral vascular disease, pharyngeal cancer,
and stomach cancer.
That nicotine in cigarettes is addictive.
That the defendants placed cigarettes on the market that were defective
and unreasonably dangerous.
That the defendants concealed or omitted material information not otherwise
known or available knowing that the material was false or misleading or
failed to disclose a material fact concerning the health effects or addictive
nature of smoking cigarettes or both.
That all of the defendants agreed to misrepresent conceal and omit information
relating to the health effects of cigarettes or the addictive nature of
cigarettes with the intention that smokers and the public would rely on
this information to their detriment.
That all of the defendants sold or supplied cigarettes that were defective.
An Attorney For You is a free consumer service. We are
not a law firm. We help consumers find the best representation for their
legal needs. Our service allows the consumer to review responses by many
law firms. This process introduces competition amongst the law firms and
allows the consumer to find superior legal representation.
Fill out one simple form and get responses from Tobacco Litigation
Attorneys competing for your case. Email up to 10 law
firms in one click; you review the responses in order to choose the right
attorney for you.
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