Hess v. Philip Morris USA

This lawsuit was filed by the family of an individual who died from a smoking-related illness; it arises from a 1994 class-action lawsuit on behalf of Florida smokers against major tobacco companies (Engle v. Liggett Group, Inc.). In this decision, the court allowed the plaintiff’s fraud claim against Philip Morris to continue. The court found that the earlier class action lawsuit in Engle had proven that the major tobacco companies fraudulently concealed information about the health risks of smoking within the time frame necessary for determining the fraud claim. The court found that it was not necessary to also show that the smoker relied on those fraudulent claims during the relevant period for such claims to move forward.  

Hess v. Philip Morris USA, Inc., No. SC12-2153, Supreme Court of Florida (2015).

  • United States
  • Apr 2, 2015
  • Supreme Court of Florida

Parties

Plaintiff Elaine Hess, as personal representative of the Estate of Stuart Hess, deceased

Defendant Philip Morris USA, Inc.

Legislation Cited

Fla. Statute 95.031(2) - fraud statute of repose

Related Documents

Type of Litigation

Tobacco Control Topics

Substantive Issues

Type of Tobacco Product

None

"While we look to reliance in determining when an action accrued for the application of the fraud statute of limitations, the accrual of an action has no bearing on the fraud statute of repose. Because statutes of repose “run[] from the date of a discrete act on the part of the defendant,” Kush, 616 So. 2d at 418, we hold that the defendant’s last act or omission triggers Florida’s fraud statute of repose. In other words, we find that “the date of the commission of the alleged fraud” under section 95.031(2), refers to the defendant’s wrongful conduct. Thus, we conclude that for statute of repose purposes it is not necessary that the smoker relied during the twelve-year repose period. Where there is evidence of the defendant’s wrongful conduct within the repose period, the statute of repose will not bar a plaintiff’s fraudulent concealment claim. In its Phase I verdict form, the Engle jury found that the Engle defendants committed fraud by concealment based on conduct that occurred after May 5, 1982, i.e., during the statute of repose period. Because we hold that the defendants’ last act or omission triggers the fraud statute of repose and since the Engle jury found that the Engle defendants’ fraudulent concealment conduct occurred within the repose period, we conclude that the Engle defendants are precluded as a matter of law from asserting the fraud statute of repose defense in Engle-progeny cases. We therefore quash the Fourth District’s decision in Hess, which required that there be evidence of the smoker’s reliance during the repose period as to Mrs. Hess’s fraudulent concealment claim. We additionally find that Mrs. Hess presented evidence of PM USA’s fraudulent concealment conduct within the statute of repose period. Because we conclude that PM USA was precluded from raising the fraud statute of repose defense to Mrs. Hess’s fraudulent concealment claim, the jury verdict should not have been disturbed on appeal."