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Springfield, MA— Attorneys last week debated responsibility for the lung cancer that killed a Massachusetts woman who had smoked for decades, as trial opened against R.J. Reynolds. Penza v. R.J. Reynolds, 2079CV00508.
Jacqueline Penza, was a daily smoker by the time she was 15, in 1974, and continued to smoke for decades, favoring Winston-brand cigarettes made by R.J. Reynolds. She was ultimately diagnosed with lung cancer in 2016, and died from the disease two years later. Her family claims Reynolds is responsible for making and marketing cigarettes it knew were dangerous and addictive while working to conceal those dangers from the public.
During his opening, Gordon & Partners’ Gary Paige, representing Penza’s family, highlighted evidence of Reynolds’ marketing alongside Penza’s smoking decisions, which began when she was a teen, and which, he said, hooked her to cigarettes and caused her fatal cancer.
“It wasn’t enough to just get teenagers to try their product,” Paige said, contending Reynolds targeted the youth market. “[Reynolds] wanted to hook them, and they wanted to get them addicted.”
However, Reynolds contends Penza knew smoking was dangerous for decades, but failed to do enough to stop smoking in time to prevent its impact.
During his opening last week, Jones Day’s Jason Keehfus previewed evidence he said showed Penza was warned repeatedly about the dangers of smoking from a variety of sources, including pack warning labels, medical professionals, and her family.
In [plaintiff’s attorney’s] opening remarks… she was portrayed to you as some sort of helpless victim who had no choice but to smoke for years. That’s not what the evidence will be,” Keehfus said. “Mrs. Penza was in control. She knew the dangers. She knew what she was doing. She was warned repeatedly.”
Trial is expected to last through much of the month.
Email Arlin Crisco at acrisco@cvn.com.
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