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A tobacco company's attorney told the Missouri Supreme Court on Wednesday that the firm shouldn't have to pay $20 million in damages to the husband of a Kansas City-area woman who smoked for decades.
Many claims in Lincoln Smith's lawsuit against Brown & Williamson Tobacco Co. were the same as ones a judge previously rejected in an unsuccessful lawsuit filed by his wife, Barbara, before she died, attorney Andrew McGaan said.
Both suits accused Brown & Williamson of causing the woman's respiratory and heart diseases and failing to warn about smoking dangers.
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Barbara Smith, who smoked Kool cigarettes for about 50 years, died from a heart attack in 2000.
The Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday in a wrongful-death case involving the Brown & Williamson tobacco company and a Jackson County family who won a $20 million verdict.
A Jackson County jury in 2005 awarded Lincoln Smith $20 million to punish the company, plus $2 million for injuries, after his wife, Barbara Smith, died of a heart attack at 73 in 2000.
The $2 million was cut down to $500,000 after the jury decided that Barbara Smith was 75 percent responsible. She had smoked Kool cigarettes for nearly 50 years.
The case was sent to the Supreme Court after an appeals court ruling last summer in which a three-judge panel found evidence of wrongdoing by the company, but ordered a new trial to reconsider punitive damages.
A Missouri appeals court has sent a case to the state Supreme Court involving a $20 million verdict against a tobacco company in Jackson County.
The appellate court decision reversed parts -- and affirmed others -- of a 2005 decision involving a Kansas City-area family that had sued Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. Click here to find out more!
Barbara Smith died in 2000 after being diagnosed with lung cancer in 1992. She had smoked Kool cigarettes starting shortly after she began smoking in 1942.
A state appeals court has thrown out a $20 million jury award against Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. but narrowly agreed there was enough evidence that the company had tried to hide the dangers of smoking from the public.
In a 2-1 decision released Tuesday, a three-judge panel with the Missouri Court of Appeals' Western District upheld the verdict against Brown & Williamson in a case filed by the family of a woman who died after smoking Kool brand cigarettes for almost 50 years.
But the panel intends to send the case back for retrial on the issue of punitive damages, saying it was unclear what evidence jurors used to develop the $20 million figure, the largest tobacco jury award in state history.
10) Sufficient evidence was presented that a tobacco company's act of manufacturing or selling defective or unreasonably dangerous cigarettes was tantamount to intentional wrongdoing where the evidence demonstrated that the tobacco company: had an active process of creating controversy regarding the health risks of smoking; planned to dispute every Surgeon General's Report, regardless of its basis; had policies of preventing harmful information from becoming available to the public; and established procedures to ensure negative information did not reach the public.
Dissenting Summary by Judge Smart: The dissent argues that the majority wrongly interprets the wrongful death statute and that the plain wording of the statutory language creates a condition for the filing of a wrongful death action by the survivors of a tort victim. In this case, that condition is not fulfilled because the decedent, having already resolved her tort claim, would be precluded from bringing another suit against B&W.
The dissent also argues that Smith fails to make a submissible case as to causation on the failure to warn claim, because the evidence showed that no warning would have been effective. The dissent also argues that there was no basis for applying a presumption that a warning would have been heeded.
10) Sufficient evidence was presented that a tobacco company's act of manufacturing or selling defective or unreasonably dangerous cigarettes was tantamount to intentional wrongdoing where the evidence demonstrated that the tobacco company: had an active process of creating controversy regarding the health risks of smoking; planned to dispute every Surgeon General's Report, regardless of its basis; had policies of preventing harmful information from becoming available to the public; and established procedures to ensure negative information did not reach the public. Majority Opinion in the Smith appeal.
In a groundbreaking decision Tuesday, a Missouri appeals court found evidence of intentional wrongdoing by a tobacco company but ordered the case retried on the issue of punitive damages.
In setting aside a $20 million punitive verdict -- the largest ever awarded in Missouri in a smoking case -- a three-judge panel of the Missouri Court of Appeals in Kansas City nonetheless found that evidence of Brown & Williamson's wrongful conduct was sufficient to submit to a jury.
The lengthy opinion written by Judge Robert G. Ulrich noted that Brown & Williamson "had an active process of creating controversy regarding the health risks of smoking and planned to dispute every surgeon general's report, regardless of what it was based upon."
"Further," Ulrich wrote, "B&W had policies of preventing harmful information from becoming available to the public and established procedures to ensure negative information did not reach the public." . . .
The decision was noteworthy in two respects. First, the court found evidence of deliberate wrongdoing by a tobacco company. And second, the court ruled for the first time that the surviving families of tort victims can sue even if the victims had previously brought suit themselves.
Even so, the court sent the case back for a new trial on punitive damages because the basis of the jury's award was unclear.
Whether that will actually occur is somewhat uncertain because Judge James M. Smart dissented from Ulrich's opinion and exercised his prerogative to transfer the case to the Missouri Supreme Court. . . .
Although the appeals court found insufficient evidence of intentional wrongdoing sufficient to warrant punitive damages on the first two claims, it found sufficient evidence to do so on the defective product claim. But because all three claims were submitted to the jury on a single form, which made it impossible for the appeals court to determine the basis of the punitive award, it sent the case back to the jury to retry the last claim alone.
[Brown & Williamson] had an active process of creating controversy regarding the health risks of smoking and planned to dispute every surgeon general's report, regardless of what it was based upon. Further, B&W had policies of preventing harmful information from becoming available to the public and established procedures to ensure negative information did not reach the public.Missouri Court of Appeals Judge Robert G. Ulrich, in the majority opinion in the Smith case.
Since the mid-1990s, plaintiffs have won about 35 percent of tobacco cases, Sweda said. And there are millions of potential plaintiffs against cigarette makers, he said.
Sweda said the outcome of a lawsuit depends on how a jury interprets the evidence. He said tobacco companies tend to win verdicts if the jury concentrates on the smoker's behavior.
“But if there is a serious consideration of the industry's role in the context of the life of the plaintiff, then those are the circumstances where we see plaintiff verdicts.”
Despite the recent plaintiff victories, tobacco companies do not seem worried.
“The headlines about the litigation don't give you a complete picture about what goes on,” said Bill Ohlemeyer, an attorney for the Altria Group Inc., the parent company of Philip Morris USA. “The majority of those cases are on appeal or have been reversed.”
A jury comprised of three smokers and several people with stated biases against smokers found a tobacco company liable for the death of a woman who smoked for 52 years.
The jury awarded $2 million in actual damages and $20 million in punitive damages for the life of Barbara Smith.
On the actual damages, they found Smith 75 percent at fault for her death and the makers of the Kool brand cigarettes she smoked 25 percent at fault.
"We were able to demonstrate that this individual had been lied to by the tobacco company," said Independence, Mo., attorney Kenneth B. McClain of Humphrey, Farrington, & McClain P.C. "The jury felt [the tobacco company] was lying to them, and they were willing to overlook their biases against smokers." . . .
McClain's other tobacco victories include $200,000 in actual damages and $15 million in punitive damages in the Kansas City, Kan., federal case, David Burton vs. R.J. Reynolds Co., and a $2 million verdict in Michael Thomas vs. Phillip Morris and Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corp. In Thomas, the jury found equal fault for the tobacco company and the smoker.
"We're getting better all the time," McClain said.
A jury in Independence, Missouri on Wednesday ordered Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. to pay $22 million to the family of a 73-year-old woman who died of lung and heart disease after smoking Kools for 58 years.
Ken McClain, attorney for the woman's family, said the panel made the award after finding Brown & Williamson, a unit of Reynolds American Inc. (RAI.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , liable for 25 percent of the illness that led to Barbara Smith's death in 2000.
"We demonstrated the company had lied for years and continued to lie in court," McClain said.
Gov. Matt Blunt on Thursday criticized a $20 million judgment against a tobacco company as an "egregious" example of a court system in need of reform.
Blunt's comments came a day after a Jackson County jury awarded the punitive damages to the family of deceased smoker Barbara Smith, of Lee's Summit.
Jurors also awarded $2 million in actual damages, but Smith's family will get just $500,000 of that because the jury found Smith 75 percent at fault and Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. -- the makers of Kool cigarettes -- 25 percent at fault.
Blunt, a Republican, has called for caps on punitive damages as part of his legislative package. . . .
Rep. Richard Byrd, R-Kirkwood and the chief sponsor of the "tort reform" legislation, called Smith's case a prime example of what he is trying to stop. . . . .
The family's attorney, Ken McClain, argued during the trial that cigarette makers must be held accountable . . . .
"I would be surprised if, on reflection, Republican lawmakers want to side with tobacco companies that kill people for a living," said McClain, adding: "One of the problems you have is that people are driving the debate for political gain as opposed to merit." . . .
Sen. Delbert Scott, R-Lowry City and the chief Senate sponsor of the bill, said he included the punitive damages cap in this year's version primarily at Byrd's initiative. But Scott said he might support an exception to the cap in some types of cases -- perhaps in tobacco lawsuits.
A jury has awarded the family of a woman who smoked for nearly 50 years more than $20 million in a wrongful death lawsuit against the maker of Kool cigarettes, the largest total judgment against a tobacco company in Missouri.
The Jackson County jury awarded the family of Barbara Smith, of Lee's Summit, $20 million in punitive damages on Wednesday, a day after ordering $2 million in actual damages.
The family will get only $500,000 of the $2 million in actual damages because the jury found Smith to be 75 percent at fault and Brown & Williamson to be 25 percent at fault. . . .
Edward L. Sweda Jr., an attorney for the Tobacco Products Liability Project, said the award was the fifth largest of 14 judgments nationwide against tobacco companies.
"The problem for Brown & Williamson is that there are potentially millions of plaintiffs down the road," Sweda said. . . .
The plaintiffs' star witness was Jeffrey Wigand, a former vice president of research and development for Brown & Williamson. His complaints against tobacco companies eventually led to huge settlements with all states to recoup health costs.
Wigand, who has a doctorate in biochemistry, testified that he was sent to a law firm when he was hired by Brown & Williamson.
"We were not to admit nicotine was addictive," Wigand said. "It was contradictory to what I knew. I didn't think lawyers would ever teach me science."
A Jackson County jury today awarded a Lee's Summit family $20 million in punitive damages against the maker of Kool cigarettes.
The family of Barbara Smith sued Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation in a wrongful-death lawsuit, alleging the company hid the adverse health effects of cigarettes. Smith had smoked Kool cigarettes for nearly 50 years before dying of a heart attack in 2000.
Brown & Williamson said the risks of cigarettes were well known. Moreover, Smith died 10 years after she quit smoking.
Dr. Jeffrey Wigand, renowned tobacco whistleblower and subject of the movie "The Insider," will testify in Independence today at a wrongful death trial against Brown and Williamson, the country's third largest cigarette manufacturer and marketer.
Attorney Ken McClain, representing the family of Barbara Smith, called Wigand as a fact witness. . . .
The case involves the death of Barbara Smith, a Lee's Summit woman who smoked Kool cigarettes for more than 50 years. She died in 2000 of a heart attack. She also suffered from lung cancer and emphysema. She quit smoking in 1990 when she was diagnosed with emphysema.
"We're proving that Brown and Williamson, the tobacco company, knew that their customers were at risk, but did not inform them," McClain said.
Jeffrey Wigand, renowned whistle-blower on the tobacco industry, completed his testimony Wednesday afternoon in an ongoing wrongful death lawsuit against Brown and Williamson. Brown and Williamson is the third largest U.S. cigarette maker.
Kenneth McClain, Independence attorney, called Wigand Monday as a witness for the defense. McClain is representing the family of Barbara Smith, a former smoker who died of a heart attack in 2000. Smith smoked Kool cigarettes, a product of Brown and Williamson tobacco company, for more than 50 years. She also suffered from lung cancer and emphysema prior to her death.
Wigand testified that Brown and Williamson denied cigarettes are addictive and harmful when, according to Wigand, the company had internal documents saying otherwise. Wigand said the mantra of company executive T.S. Sandefur was, "We're in the nicotine delivery business and tar is the negative excess baggage." Another slogan Wigand said Sandefur often repeated was, "Hook 'em young and hook 'em for life."