A jury today decided in favour of Philip Morris USA and RJ Reynolds in the first Engle case to go to trial in Clay County, Florida.
In a press release Philip Morris USA said that this verdict marks the seventh win for the company in the last ten Engle cases tried in Florida state courts.
“We believe that, once again, the jury appropriately decided the company was not responsible for the plaintiff’s decision about whether to smoke or when to quit,” said Murray Garnick, Altria Client Services senior vice president and associate general counsel, speaking on behalf of Philip Morris USA. “Although Philip Morris USA won this trial, we continue to believe that the trial courts are violating Florida law and due process by allowing the plaintiffs to rely on general findings from a previous jury with no connection to the specific circumstances of these cases.”
Engle cases are a series of cases allowing individual smokers to sue tobacco companies after the dismissal of a class-action lawsuit in 2006 by the Florida Supreme Court. (pi)