Philip Morris USA won reversal of a USD 2 million (EUR 1.5 million) Florida jury award in a wrongful-death case filed by the widower of a smoker who died of lung cancer.

The Florida District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach yesterday ruled that the trial court erred in denying Philip Morris’s request to bar the claim because the lawsuit was filed too late, reports Bloomberg.
The lawsuit was filed in December 2007 by the estate of Shirley Barbanell, who died of lung cancer in April 1996 at the age of 73. Evidence demonstrated at a trial that Barbanell was aware before May 1990 that cigarette smoking had caused serious problems with her health, the appeals panel wrote.
“Although the decedent was not diagnosed with cancer until 1996, the critical event is not when an illness was actually diagnosed by a physician but when the disease or condition first manifested itself,” the appeals panel said.
The Barbanell case is the first “Engle” claim to be overturned by an appeals court, Philip Morris said in a statement. The jury had awarded damages of USD 5.34 million, holding Barbanell about 64 percent responsible, which reduced the damages to USD 2 million, according to the statement.
The ruling isn’t final and is subject to a request for a rehearing. (pi)