From left, Gary Paige, Jason Keehfus, and William Geraghty deliver openings at trial against R.J. Reynolds and Philip Morris over the cancer death of a Massachusetts smoker. Watch the trial.
Springfield, MA— Attorneys last week sparred over who was responsible for the cancer death of a Massachusetts man who had smoked for decades, as trial opened against the nation’s two largest tobacco companies and a convenience store chain that sells the companies’ cigarettes. Perez-Trinidad v. R.J. Reynolds, et al., 2179-CV-00365.
Israel Trinidad began smoking as a teenager in the 1970s and continued for much of his life, favoring cigarettes made by R.J. Reynolds and Philip Morris. He died from lung cancer in 2019, when he was 55. His wife, Zulma Perez-Trinidad, contends the two tobacco companies are responsible for her husband’s death by selling dangerous, defectively designed cigarettes and conspiring to hide the risks of smoking from the public.
She also contends convenience store chain Cumberland Farms is responsible for selling those cigarettes to her husband. However, the claim against Cumberland largely depends on claims against the tobacco companies. As a result, trial in the case promises to focus primarily on the two tobacco defendants.
And as trial opened Thursday, Perez-Trinidad’’s attorney, Gordon & Partners’ Gary Paige, told jurors the tobacco companies knew their cigarettes were dangerous, but conspired to cast doubt on the medical evidence of smoking’s risks throughout much of the latter half of the 20th century.
“This case is not about an industry that made a few dumb statements every now and then over the years. This is about [a] many-decades-long campaign of deception led by senior executives and scientists, with real consequences for real people.”
And Paige added that evidence would show that the two companies researched and developed alternative, safer cigarette designs, such as ultra-low nicotine cigarettes that would be less likely to addict smokers, but abandoned those alternatives because they would not be as profitable.
“It’s all about the nicotine addiction,” Paige said. “That’s what their business model is, that’s [what defendants’ cigarettes] are designed to do, and that’s what they profit from.”
But Philip Morris’ attorney, William Geraghty, of Shook Hardy & Bacon, pushed back on that contention. In his opening, Geraghty said evidence would show Philip Morris developed and sold an ultra-low nicotine brand, but it was a commercial failure because most smokers bought cigarettes for the effect that nicotine provided.
Geraghty added that evidence would show the two companies' cigarettes were not defective, because there is no safe cigarette. “Cigarettes are inherently dangerous,” Geraghty said. “They are dangerous because of their inherent qualities, not because of the way they are designed.”
And in his opening, R.J. Reynolds’ attorney, Jones Day’s Jason Keehfus, told jurors evidence would show Trinidad chose to smoke throughout his life, despite knowing the risks of cigarettes.
“Mr. Trinidad smoked with his eyes wide open to the dangers throughout his life. He wasn’t defrauded, deceived, or tricked, or fooled.”
Trial in the case is expected to last multiple weeks.
Email Arlin Crisco at acrisco@cvn.com.
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