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• Reynolds Tobacco Wins Individual Smoking and Health Suit in California 

A federal court judge in California today entered a directed verdict in favor of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and Philip Morris Incorporated in Conley. The Conley case is an individual smoking and health suit that was heard in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The trial began on Dec. 4, 2002, in Oakland. . .

After the plaintiffs rested their case, Judge Saundra B. Armstrong entered a verdict in favor of Reynolds Tobacco and Philip Morris because the plaintiffs failed to produce sufficient evidence to support their claims that the companies were responsible for the death of Frank White.

"As the plaintiffs presented their case, it became increasingly clear that their claims against Reynolds Tobacco had no merit," said Stephen J. Kaczynski, Reynolds Tobacco's lead counsel for this case. "Judge Armstrong rightfully ruled that the plaintiffs had failed to show that the company's products were defectively designed or that Mr. White had not been warned about the risks of smoking." . .

In Conley, the judge ruled as a matter of law that the jury could not reasonably return a verdict for the plaintiffs, and entered a verdict in favor of the defendants -- Reynolds Tobacco and Philip Morris.

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