Court Upholds (Again) $20 Million Punitive-Damages Verdict Against Phillip Morris
Posted on Jan 27, 2021 in Constitutional Law, Consumer Protection | Comments Off on Court Upholds (Again) $20 Million Punitive-Damages Verdict Against Phillip Morris
In what may be one of the last Engle progeny cases to reach the Eleventh Circuit, the court again upheld an award of punitive damages against the tobacco company defendant, rejecting Phillip Morris’s argument that the award—which was over 3 times the amount of compensatory damages awarded to the individual plaintiff—was unconstitutionally excessive in violation of due process. Cote I...
End of Engle Cigarette Litigation in Eleventh Circuit?
Posted on Nov 30, 2020 in Class Actions | Comments Off on End of Engle Cigarette Litigation in Eleventh Circuit?
Judge Kevin Newsom begins his opinion for the court in Harris v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 2020 WL 6816965 (11th Cir. Nov. 20, 2020), with the auspicious observation that this Engle case is “one of the last that we’re likely to see.” Correct or not, the comment evokes the long history in the Eleventh Circuit of the progeny of the Florida Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Engle v....
Eleventh Circuit Affirms Individual’s $41 Million Verdict Against Tobacco Companies
Posted on Mar 30, 2020 in Consumer Protection | Comments Off on Eleventh Circuit Affirms Individual’s $41 Million Verdict Against Tobacco Companies
In yet another opinion applying the Florida Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Engle v. Liggett Group, Inc., 945 So. 2d 1246 (Fla. 2006), the Eleventh Circuit affirmed denial of motions for judgment as a matter of law against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and Philip Morris USA Inc. in a published opinion upholding multi-million dollar jury verdicts against both defendants. Kerrivan...
Eleventh Circuit Restores $20m Punitive-Damages Verdict Against Philip Morris
Posted on Dec 6, 2018 in Consumer Protection | Comments Off on Eleventh Circuit Restores $20m Punitive-Damages Verdict Against Philip Morris
The Eleventh Circuit last week reinstated a $20.76m punitive-damages verdict against tobacco giant Philip Morris, ruling that the district court had abused its discretion in ordering a new trial on the plaintiff’s intentional tort claims. Cote v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 2018 WL 6167395 (11th Cir. Nov. 26, 2018). The court also affirmed the denial of Philip Morris’s motions for a...
Eleventh Circuit Upholds Constitutionality of Giving Preclusive Effect to Engle Jury Findings on Intentional Torts
Posted on Sep 18, 2018 in Constitutional Law | Comments Off on Eleventh Circuit Upholds Constitutionality of Giving Preclusive Effect to Engle Jury Findings on Intentional Torts
Recently, in Searcy v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 2018 WL 4214594 (11th Cir. Sept. 5, 2018), the Eleventh Circuit held that giving preclusive effect to a Florida jury’s findings that tobacco companies had concealed the health impacts of smoking did not violate the Due Process Clause when the defendants had notice and an opportunity to be heard. This is the latest in a line of “Engle...