A circuit court jury in Fort Lauderdale awarded the family of a deceased smoker USD 75.35 million (EUR 60.41 million) in punitive and compensatory damages, making it one of the highest awards in the so-called Engle progeny cases, reported GlobeNewswire.

Four tobacco companies were assessed damages, making the case unique as the only Engle progeny case to date in which assessments were made for each of the defendants, according to a lawyer cited in the GlobeNewswire story. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco was assessed USD 17.25 million of the punitive award and Philip Morris USA held liable for USD 17.4 million. Lorillard Tobacco was assessed USD 12.6 million and Liggett Group for USD 7.6 million of the punitive award.
Engle progeny cases stem from a 2006 Florida Supreme Court decision that decertified a class action but allowed former class-action members in the suit originally brought by a deceased Florida doctor, Howard Engle, to file individual claims.
In the Fort Lauderdale award made on 31 May, the suit was brought by the widow and daughter of Johnnie Calloway, a smoker for 40 years who died in 1992 at the age of 59. His bladder cancer and heart disease were attributed to cigarette addiction. (pi)