In closing the liability phase of Budnick v. R.J. Reynolds, plaintiff attorney Stephen Hammer reminded the jury that the defense agreed that Lenny Budnick died from lung cancer caused by cigarettes. The only question in the case, said Mr. Hammer, was whether Mr. Budnick was addicted to cigarettes.
Topics: Toxic Torts, Products Liability, Budnick v. Reynolds, Engle Progeny, Tobacco Litigation
Marcinkowski v. Golden Nugget involves a multi-story parking garage at the Golden Nugget casino in Las Vegas. Two vehicles broke through the guard rails and plunged to the ground, two- and four-stories below, killing or fatally injuring the vehicle occupants.
Topics: Negligence, Marcinkowski v. Golden Nugget
In Crouch v. Playboy, Julie Crouch, a master control operator at Playboy TV who monitored the Playboy Channel for quality control, prevailed on her sexual harassment claim against co-worker Charles Dorn and Playboy.
Topics: Employment Law
The jury in Piendle v. R.J. Reynolds returned a punitive damages verdict of $180K against R.J. Reynolds, and $90K against Philip Morris. The compensatory damages award in Phase 1 was $4M. The total punitive damages award, $270K, was approximately two orders of magnitude lower than the amount the plaintiff had suggested, and lower, even, than the $900K that the defense had suggested, if the jury believed that punitive damages were warranted.
Topics: Toxic Torts, Products Liability, Engle Progeny, Tobacco Litigation, Piendle v. RJ Reynolds
CVN Dockethas been updated -- click to see the most current version of the CVN Docket.
Topics: CVN Docket
