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Smokers who can prove they had smoking-related illnesses before November 1996 may share in a $600 million fund.
Jump to full article: Miami (FL) Herald, 2008-04-19
Author: PATRICK DANNER
Intro: A $600 million trust fund set up to compensate smokers for illnesses will be distributed equally rather than on the severity of their illness or suffering, a Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge ruled Friday.
Determining individual claims and the impact smoking has had on smokers would require lengthy trials, Judge David C. Miller said.
''Every one of you has an individual story to tell,'' Miller said in court. ``But we're dealing with 20,000, 30,000 people. I have to deal with the class, what's best for class as a whole.''
Friday's ruling was the first step toward getting money into the hands of Florida smokers, led by retired Miami Beach pediatrician Howard Engle. His class-action lawsuit against tobacco companies dates back 14 years. A jury in 2000 awarded smokers a landmark $145 billion against R. J. Reynolds, Philip Morris and three other major tobacco firms. The Florida Supreme Court tossed the verdict in 2006.
Tobacco companies had put up $700 million to benefit smokers even if the appeal failed. With interest, the fund now has about $800 million.
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