A jury in Escambia County, Florida, held RJ Reynolds Tobacco (RJRT) liable for USD 23.6 billion (EUR 17.4 billion) in punitive damages to the widow of a deceased smoker for withholding information about the dangers of smoking, the Winston-Salem Journal reported.

Fifteen hours of deliberation were required following a four-week trial to reach the verdict, one of the largest against a cigarette maker, said the Pensacola News Journal. The plaintiff, Cynthia Robinson, also was awarded nearly USD 17 million in compensatory damages, the newspapers said.
Robinson is a resident of Pensacola and the lawsuit was judged under Engle rules, which allow Florida residents to file individual damage suits using evidence collected in the Howard Engle v. Ligget Group class-action suit that initially awarded USD 145 billion to a group of litigants, the News Journal said. That judgement was decertified in 2006, but the way was paved for individual suits. About 8,000 such suits are pending in Florida courts, the Journal said.
RJRT Assistant General Counsel Jeffery Raborn in a statement called the Escambia Country jury damages, “grossly excessive and impermissable under state and constitutional law." The cigarette maker will appeal, the newspapers said.
The jury award came days after Reynolds American, RJRT’s parent company, announced a takeover offer valued at USD 27.4 billion for competitor Lorillard, an offer that would merge the country’s second and third largest cigarette makers.