JACKSONVILLE, FL – This morning, R.J. Reynolds was granted a mistrial in Brown v. R.J. Reynolds, the second Engle Progeny tobacco trial that began at the Duval County Courthouse this month. Judge Adrian G. Soud originally heard Brown v. R.J. Reynolds, but recused himself after several weeks of the proceeding. Judge Charles Arnold, who previously presided over Frailey v. Philip Morris, stepped in and granted the mistrial.

Ray Fields Brown started smoking as a teenager and struggled with quitting for years. He finally quit in 1986, but there is evidence that he relapsed soon after. In 1993 Fields developed lung cancer and died two years later.