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Dedham, MA—A Massachusetts state court jury cleared R.J. Reynolds on Wednesday of responsibility for the cancer death of a 54-year-old nurse who smoked for decades. Lagadimas v. R.J. Reynolds, 1582-CV-01474. 

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Dedham, MA—A Massachusetts nurse who died from lung cancer was the victim of dangerous cigarette design and a scheme to undermine evidence of smoking’s risks, an attorney for the nurse’s family told jurors Tuesday, as trial began against R.J. Reynolds and a New England grocery chain. Lagadimas v. R.J. Reynolds, et al., 1582-CV-01474.

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Update 10/12/18: A Massachusetts state court jury Friday afternoon awarded the family of a former brake worker $43.1 million after finding R.J. Reynolds liable for his lung cancer death, but jurors cleared Philip Morris and an auto parts company of responsibility. 

The verdict, reached after four days of deliberations, includes $13.1 million in compensatory damages for the 2015 death of Lous Summerlin and $30 million in punitives imposed against Reynolds. 

Boston—Jurors entered their fourth day of deliberations Friday at trial over claims the nation’s two biggest cigarette makers and an auto parts company are responsible for a Massachusetts man’s fatal cancer. Summerlin v. Philip Morris, et al., 1581CV05255.

Canton, MA—At the urging of a Probate and Family Court judge, parties battling over the future of Sumner Redstone's $40 billion media empire took a break from a Friday pre-trial hearing and returned announcing they’d made strides toward a deal that could ultimately resolve the tangle of disputes between them. Dauman v. Redstone, 16-E0020.