Products Liability Law Reporter

Carolyn Long started smoking Winston and Salem brand cigarettes when she was a teenager in the 1950s. She smoked one pack a day from the time she went to college until 1978. After a breast cancer scare, she became more health conscious but was unable to quit smoking. She then switched to light Winston cigarettes; however, she increased her consumption to two packs per day. In 1994, she was diagnosed as having COPD and slowly lost lung function over the next 25 years, although she was able to quit smoking in 2002. As a result of her illness, she required supplemental oxygen and was unable to continue traveling with her husband. Long died at age 80 and is survived by her husband and three adult children.

Long’s survivors brought an Engle suit against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., alleging negligence, fraud, concealment, and conspiracy. The plaintiffs, who asserted that the defendant had hidden the addictiveness and harmful effects of cigarettes, did not assert claims for past medical expenses or wages. The defense, which added Philip Morris to the verdict form, asserted that Long had not been addicted to nicotine and knew the risks of smoking.

The jury awarded $9.75 million. The jury apportioned liability at 60% to R.J. Reynolds; 30% to Long; and 10% to nonparty Philip Morris.

Citation: Long v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., No. 2008-CA-000499 (Fla. Cir. Ct. Hillsborough Cty. Jan. 28, 2021).

Plaintiff counsel: Shane Newlands, Lee Clark, and AAJ member Jeremiah C. Fues, all of Lakewood Ranch, Fla.; and AAJ member George Vaka and Kurt Rosales, both of Tampa, Fla.

Plaintiff experts: David Drobes, tobacco addiction, Tampa, Fla.; K. Michael Cummings, tobacco history and epidemiology, Charleston, S.C.; and David Merino,
pulmonology, Lexington, Ky.