Cigarette Maker Hit With $23.6 Billion in Punitive Damages // Provides Template For More Law Suits

WASHINGTON - July 19, 2014 - PRLog -- This verdict provides a template for future actions on behalf of other Florida residents who, under an earlier decision known as Engle, need no longer prove that the tobacco company's conduct was wrongful, so long as they can show their addiction, and that smoking caused their death or other health injuries, says Banzhaf, who helped bring about this extraordinary precedent in the original Engle case.

        While some may question whether more than $23 billion in punitive damages is excessive, Prof. Banzhaf notes that punitive damages - which are awarded above and beyond the actual damages the plaintiff suffered - are designed to deter and hopefully prevent wrongful conduct by this and other defendants.

        But, notes Banzhaf, $23.6 billion is close to only 2% of Reynolds' annual income, and about 1% of its total assets.  If a jury wanted to deter a driver who had killed a pedestrian from continuing to drive in a reckless manner, it would certainly hit him with a penalty of more than a few thousand dollars (about 2% of average income).  To get the attention of a corporate giant which annually kills hundreds of thousands of people and brings in hundreds of billions, you have to hit them with an equivalent penalty, he argues.

        Although this verdict will certainly be appealed, and may be reduced somewhat by a higher court, it should serve as a warning to tobacco companies, and make it much easier for other families in Florida likewise devastated by this deadly product to force companies to settle for reasonable amounts, Banzhaf says.

        "This decision opens the door for thousands of other smoker law suits in Florida seeking hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars," argues Banzhaf.

        It may also encourage lawyers in other jurisdictions to bring similar actions.  "There's little which is unique about Florida when it comes to the deadly nature of cigarettes," he notes.

JOHN F. BANZHAF III, B.S.E.E., J.D., Sc.D.
Professor of Public Interest Law
George Washington University Law School,
FAMRI Dr. William Cahan Distinguished Professor,
Fellow, World Technology Network,
Founder, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)
2000 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20052, USA
(202) 994-7229 // (703) 527-8418
http://banzhaf.net/ @profbanzhaf