TOBACCO CONTROL LAWS

French v. Philip Morris Inc.

In a case arising from a settlement agreement between a class of flight attendants and several tobacco companies, a jury awarded an individual flight attendant $5.5 million in damages, finding that exposure to second-hand smoke at her workplace caused her to develop chronic sinusitis. Upon consideration of defendants' motions to set aside the jury verdict, the Court reaffirmed its interpretation of the burden-shifting stipulations contained in the settlement agreement as requiring individual plaintiffs to prove only causation when prosecuting individual claims for damages. The Court's interpretation rendered proof of all other elements of plaintiffs' claims unnecessary. The Court further held that the apportionment of damages to the defendants according to their relative market shares was appropriate, but reduced the damages award to $500,000.

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French v. Philip Morris Incorporated, et al., Case No. 00-01706 CA 22, Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida, General Jurisdiction Division (2002).

  • United States
  • Sep 1, 2002
  • Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida, General Jurisdiction Division
View Case History

Parties

Plaintiff Lynn French

Defendant

  • Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., Individually and as Successor to the American Tobacco Company
  • Lorillard Tobacco Co.
  • Philip Morris Incorporated ("Philip Morris U.S.A.")
  • R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company

Legislation Cited

Related Documents

None

Type of Litigation

Personal Injury
An individual or organization may seek civil damages against a tobacco company based on the claim that the use of tobacco products causes disease or death. Some of these cases will relate to general tobacco products, while others will relate to specific subcategories of tobacco products--for example, light or low products, menthol or other flavored products. Additionally, there may be cases relating to exposure to secondhand smoke.

Tobacco Control Topics

Smoke Free Measures
Measures to reduce or eliminate exposure to tobacco smoke. (See FCTC Art. 8)

Substantive Issues

Procedural Defect
The court might consider procedural matters without touching the merits of the case. These might include: improper joinder, when third parties, such as Health NGOs or government officials, seek to become parties to the suit; lack of standing, where a plaintiff fails to meet the minimum requirements to bring suit; lack of personal jurisdiction, where the court does not have jurisdiction to rule over the defendant; or lack of subject matter jurisdiction, where the court does not have jurisdiction over the issue at suit.

Type of Tobacco Product

None

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