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New Port Richey, FL—Attorneys Thursday battled over whether a Florida woman’s fatal lung cancer was caused by a tobacco industry conspiracy to hide the dangers of smoking, or the woman’s own decisions, as trial began against R.J. Reynolds. Kelley v. R.J. Reynolds, 2017CA002490.

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Ten years ago, the first Engle progeny tobacco trial opened. Over the next decade, Engle progeny cases, among thousands of lawsuits spun from a decertified class action against the nation's tobacco companies, have featured the best lawyers in the country. And 2018 was no exception. 

CVN's Engle Plaintiff's Attorney of 2018 earned the award by notching an impressive five wins, highlighted by the largest jury verdict in nearly three years. 

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CVN's unrivaled coverage of Engle progeny tobacco litigation saw some of the nation's best attorneys face off in Florida courtrooms in 2018, with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake. The cases are among thousands that stem from a Florida class action suit that the state’s supreme court ultimately decertified, allowing individual plaintiffs to recover against the nation's tobacco companies if they can prove the smokers in their cases suffered from nicotine addiction that caused a smoking-related disease.

CVN's Engle Defense Attorney of 2018 earned the  honor by going undefeated in a trio of high-profile trials. 

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CVN's 2018 Georgia trial coverage saw some of the best defense attorneys, in the state and throughout the country. This year, CVN honors not one, but two defense attorneys for their outstanding work in high-stakes Georgia cases.

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San Diego— Jurors Friday awarded a California nurse more than $1.4 million for the severe shoulder injury she suffered in a 2015 fall at a Ralphs grocery store. Bartholomew v. Ralphs Grocery Co., 2017-00033015.