An attorney in Florida’s record-setting tobacco case said the jury’s $23.6 billion punitive award was a response to tobacco companies’ apparent indifference to claims against them, and he hailed the verdict as an "opportunity for the tobacco industry to reconsider its conduct."

Christopher Chestnut, part of the plaintiff's legal team in Cynthia Robinson v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, described the award, the largest to-date in Florida's Engle progeny cases, as a landmark win in tobacco litigation. "It changes the whole landscape," Chestnut said.

On July 18, an Escambia County, Florida jury awarded more than $23.6 billion in punitive damages to the widow and son of Michael Johnson Sr., a smoker who died from lung cancer in 1996. The suit had originally been part of Florida’s Engle class action claim against tobacco industry defendants. However, an award for plaintiffs was vacated and the class ultimately decertified, exposing tobacco defendants to potential liability in thousands of individual claims. Tobacco companies have faced mixed results in the Engle progeny cases decided so far. However, punitive awards in earlier Engle progeny cases have generally run in the millions of dollars. Chestnut said those earlier awards, and the indifference by R.J. Reynolds to those damages, may have contributed to the award in Robinson. He pointed to defense counsel’s seemingly nonchalant reference during closing arguments to the more than $100 million R.J. Reynolds has paid in prior Engle progeny cases. "Those awards didn’t get their attention," Chestnut said. "The $23 billion got their attention."

Chestnut said he believed the evidence that most resonated with jurors was video of a 1994 congressional hearing in which tobacco industry leaders testified that cigarettes were not addictive. Chestnut said the testimony, contrasted with evidence of tobacco industry internal documents acknowledging the addictiveness of nicotine, established R.J. Reynolds’s complicity to cover up the dangers of smoking and supported the large punitive award. “We called them liars and called their practice for what it was: lies and greed,” Chestnut said.

Although some legal analysts, including loss-of-life compensation expert Ken Feinberg, believe the punitive award won’t be upheld, Chestnut said he believes Robinson may establish a new trend for larger verdicts. “This is an opportunity for meaningful change” in tobacco litigation, Chestnut said. “They called this a ‘runaway jury,’” Chestnut said. “They are a runaway company…. I hope this award resonates” going forward.

Atlantic County, NJ–A New Jersey Superior Court judge upheld an $11.1 million jury verdict awarded last year in a bellwether product liability case against transvaginal mesh manufacturer Ethicon Endo-Surgery Inc.

In Linda Gross v. Ethicon, Judge Carol Higbee of the Atlantic County Superior Court denied Ethicon’s motion for a new trial and a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, ruling that "strong evidence" supported Gross’s product liability claims against Ethicon's Prolift, a device use to treat vaginal prolapse. Gross argued that she underwent multiple surgeries to remove the device after it hardened and eroded through her vaginal wall. She also claimed that long-term damage caused by the Prolift left her unable to sit for long periods of time without pain. The jury awarded Gross $3.35 million in compensatory damages and $7.76 million in punitive damages after finding Ethicon, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, Inc., misrepresented the Prolift to Gross and failed to adequately warn her surgeon of its risks.

Escambia County, FL - The jury in Robinsons v. R.J. Reynolds, et al. returned a $23.6 billion punitive damages award on Friday. This four week trial was filed by widow, Cynthia Robinson in 2008 after her husband passed away at the age of 36.

Atlanta, GA - CVN, a national news organization providing coverage of civil litigation throughout the US, is expanding to include coverage of regional proceedings through its CVN Local offering. Starting at $99 per month, CVN Local will provide unprecedented access to courtrooms by tracking dockets and covering proceedings via video recordings and editorial articles. The video of the proceedings will be available for on demand access.

Starting with Georgia in September, CVN will continue its roll out of CVN Local to Florida, California, Nevada, New Jersey, and South Carolina soon thereafter. Check back for launch dates for your region or email sales@cvn.com to be notified when your region's launch date is set or to add your state to our roll out.

To suggest a case you would like covered, click here - http://cvn.com/suggestions/new.

See a sample of the expanded regional coverage CVN Local will provide: Click here to watch an interview with attorneys Michael Goldberg and Andy Goldner and learn about their trial tactics in the Mary Fellers v. Just People, Inc. wrongful death case.