Reading a deposition into evidence is often seen as the last, worst resort for a trial attorney. It means the witness isn’t available for the trial and a videotaped deposition isn’t possible. Attorneys often see the lack of the genuine witness as a weakness, and deliver a written deposition into evidence with all of the style of reading the side of a cereal box. However, when you put your unique control over the deposition’s presentation to work, you’ll keep your jury's attention focused on testimony that may make the difference in your case. To take advantage of the written deposition, and keep your jurors' interest, you must treat your deposition like the script of a courtroom play, using these four keys:

Barbara Lourie’s “heavy history of smoking” likely caused her fatal lung cancer, a pathologist and cancer specialist testified yesterday in James Lourie’s Engle progeny tobacco suit. James Lourie v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

Dr. Luis Villa, a pathology expert in Miami, told jurors that, although not all smokers develop lung cancer, “The more you smoke, the more you’re likely to get a malignancy.” Given Lourie’s 40 years of smoking and the type of cancer she was diagnosed with, Villa said it was “more likely than not” that her smoking caused her cancer.

James Lourie is suing R.J. Reynolds and Philip Morris, claiming that their concealment of smoking’s dangers caused Barabara to become addicted to the nicotine in the cigarettes that caused her to develop cancer.

Although Lourie ultimately died in 1997 from a perforated intestine, Villa said that was a complication stemming from her lung cancer and the treatment that weakened her immune system. “Everything is related to the metastatic carcinoma of the lung,” Villa said.

However, the defense contends that there is insufficient medical evidence to link smoking to Barbara Lourie’s cancer, and maintains that her cancer likely metastasized in her lung after developing elsewhere in her body. Under cross examination, Villa acknowledged that many important medical records surrounding Barbara Lourie’s cancer diagnosis and treatment were unavailable, including CT scans and X-rays of the tumor. Villa, who never personally treated Barabra Lourie, also acknowledged that the records that were available contained inconsistencies as to her cancer's progression and type. For example, one note refers to Lourie’s cancer as a “metastatic breast carcinoma,” which Villa termed a “typo” by the reporting physician.

However, despite missing records and inconsistencies, Villa testified that he believed the medical evidence available was sufficient to diagnose Lourie with smoking-related lung cancer.

“Her life came to an end because of cancer of the lung,” he said.

Plaintiff's case-in-chief is expected to continue into next week.

Related Information

Watch live and on-demand coverage of the trial.

Because our Engle Trading Card Series has been so popular and we've been asked where to find our earlier, Series 1 cards, we'll periodically revisit the subjects of our first set of cards and provide quick updates on their Engle litigation history.

Card #2: Adam Trop

The Trial: Bryant v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

The Attorney: Stephen Kaczynski

Each Friday we highlight the week's Engle progeny tobacco trials and look ahead to next week.

In moving for a mistrial, defense attorney Jeffrey Furr says Dr. Shannon Miller's comparison of smoking-related deaths to deaths in the 9-11 attacks on the World Trade Center were calculated to inflame the jury. Click here if you are unable to play the video above.