Kevin Boyce delivers his closing argument on behalf of R.J. Reynolds, accused of responsibility for the throat cancer that killed Louis Lawrence. Jurors Monday awarded Lawrence's widow more than $800,000 in compensatory damages and found punitives potentially warranted.

Update: Parties reached a settlement before the punitive phase of trial was scheduled to begin Wednesday. 

Ocala, FL—A Florida state court jury awarded a smoker’s widow more than $800,000 and found punitive damages potentially warranted against R.J. Reynolds for the role the company played in her husband’s fatal throat cancer.Lawrence v. R.J. Reynolds, 2009-CA-000178.  

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Decatur, GA—Trial opens Monday for a Georgia man who says he suffered serious injuries when his car was rear-ended in a metro Atlanta-area crash. Blatnik v. Youngblood, 15A56329. 

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Update 5/3/17: The story has been updated to reflect the attorneys' views on the final amount of the award and to add comments from the plaintiffs' legal team. 

West Palm Beach, FL—A South Florida couple won a six-figure award Friday in their suit claiming a clean coal company's representatives cost them millions of dollars after making false stock restriction promises. Soffin v. Clean Coal Technologies, 2010CA028706.

Mark Avera delivers his opening statement at trial against R.J. Reynolds, accused of responsibility for the cancer death of Louis Lawrence. 

Ocala, FL—Attorneys argued over the role R.J. Reynolds may have played in the fatal cancer that struck a Florida farm owner who smoked for more than half his life, as trial opened against the tobacco company Thursday. Lawrence v. R.J. Reynolds, 2009-CA-000178.  

Randall Bassett delivers his closing argument on behalf of R.J. reynolds, accused of responsibility for the laryngeal cancer and eventual death of Ralph Shadd.

West Palm Beach, FL—Jurors this week found a Florida smoker's cancer and death were caused by R.J. Reynolds cigarettes, but shut out the smoker’s widow on her claim for damages against the tobacco company. Shadd v. R.J. Reynolds, 2008-CA-038631.