An appeals court Monday rejected a North Florida jury's call forR.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. to pay $79.2 million to the daughter of adead smoker -- overturning what could have been the largest verdictin a barrage of lawsuits against cigarette makers The 1st District Court of Appeal sent the case back to Levy CountyCircuit Court to determine a reduced amount of damages in the 1996lung-cancer death of James Cayce Horner. The three-judge panel, however, ruled against R.J.
Reynolds onother issues that could have shielded it from liability. The caseis one of thousands stemming from a 2006 Florida Supreme Courtdecision that established critical findings about the healthdangers of smoking and past misrepresentation by the tobaccoindustry. Horner started smoking as a teen in the 1930s, using brands such asPall Mall, Camel and Lucky Strike. In a 2010 verdict, his daughter,Dianne Webb, was awarded $7.2 million in compensatory damages and$72 million in punitive damages. The Tallahassee-based appeals court, however, concluded that thecompensatory damages, which can be based on such things as loss ofcompanionship and mental pain and suffering, were excessive.
Theamount of punitive damages is tied to the amount of compensatorydamages, so the appeals court overturned the entire award. In its ruling, the court said it could not find any other cases inwhich adult offspring received such a large amount of compensatorydamages in the wrongful death of a parent. It acknowledged a closerelationship between Horner and Webb, including Horner taking careof a disabled granddaughter, but indicated that did not justify thedamage amount. "The amount of compensatory damages suggests an award that is theproduct of passion, an emotional response to testimony regardingdifficulties Ms.
Webb and her father faced and overcame beforecancer befell him, rather than evidence of his illness, subsequentdeath and the non-economic consequences of the death itself,' theruling said. R.J. Reynolds issued a statement echoing the court's reasoning onthe damages issues. "This decision demonstrates that there are limits to the amounts aFlorida jury can award for pain and suffering and that trial courtsare obligated to exclude evidence and arguments that are meant toinflame the jury, particularly when they bear no relationship tothe defendant's products,' company vice president and assistantgeneral counsel Jeff Raborn said in the statement. The ruling was the second time in less than two months that the 1stDCA ordered the reduction of a huge judgment against R.J.
Reynolds.In February, it found that a $40.8 million punitive-damage award inthe death of an Ocala man was excessive -- though it upheld $5.5million in compensatory damages for the man's widow. Tallahassee attorney Jim Gustafson, who represents Webb, said heexpected the $72 million in punitive damages to be reduced afterthe February ruling. He said he wouldn't second-guess the appealscourt, though he was disappointed it didn't see the compensatorydamages issues like the Levy County judge and jury did. Gustafson, however, said he was pleased that the appeals courtruled against R.J.
Reynolds on the series of other issues thatcould have prevented it from being held liable, such as astatute-of-limitations issue. Tobacco companies have raised similararguments in other cases stemming from the 2006 Supreme Courtruling -- which are known as "Engle progeny" cases. Gustafson is part of a firm, Searcy, Denney, Scarola, Barnhart& Shipley, that has filed hundreds of the cases against tobaccocompanies. He said the court's rulings Monday on the liabilityissues were a "door-slamming loss to R.J.
Reynolds and the rest ofthem.". I am an expert from Computer Hardware & Software, usually analyzes all kind of industries situation, such as citizen barcode printer , yamaha sound cards.
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