Update: Jurors imposed a $5 million punitive verdict Frday afternoon against R.J. Reynolds for the role the tobacco company played in Valton Sheffield's fatal lung cancer. The verdict, reached after about 90 minutes of deliberations, pushes the total award to $6.8 million to Sheffield's widow.
Orlando, FL—A Florida State Court jury Thursday awarded $1.8 million to the widow of a Florida smoker who died after multiple bouts of lung cancer, and it found R.J. Reynolds potentially liable for punitive damages for the part it played in the man’s death. Sheffield v. R.J. Reynolds, 2013-CA-009469.