JACKSONVILLE -- The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in the Jacksonville Division denied on April 15 a group of tobacco companies’ renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law and alternative motion for new trial.
Patricia Harris had sued R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Philip Morris USA, Inc. and Lorillard Tobacco Company on behalf of the estate of Gerald Harris. In her lawsuit, she accused the tobacco companies of producing cigarettes that gave Gerald Harris coronary heart disease (CHD), oral cavity cancer and lung cancer before he died.
She sued for wrongful death and survival damages via negligence, strict liability, fraudulent concealment and conspiracy to conceal. After a jury and court sided with Patricia Harris, the defendants filed the current motions, which the court denied.
The court first addressed the renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law on all claims and alternative motion for new trial. It first pointed out that Gerald Harris was an Engle class member, despite the defendant’s arguments that he wasn’t. The court also determined whether Patricia Harris can get both wrongful death and survival damages for separate injuries.
It said, “While it is a close question, the court remains persuaded that where a tortfeasor’s conduct causes multiple injuries, one of which results in death and at least one of which does not result in a death, a plaintiff can recover wrongful death damages with respect to the fatal injury as well as survival damages with respect to the non-fatal injury.”
In this particular case, the court added that the abatement clause says, “When a personal injury to the decedent results in death, no action for the personal injury shall survive, and any such action pending all the time of death shall abate.” The court concluded that the abatement clause doesn’t actually mention if the defendant’s course of conduct lead to its death. Therefore, the clause doesn’t dismiss a survival action for an injury that didn’t result in death.
As for whether federal law blocks Patricia Harris’ claims, the court said that her negligence and strict liability claims didn’t solely rely on a failure-to-warn method, so her claims are not blocked.
The court also decided if the evidence was enough to back Harris’ allegations. It pointed out that one of Gerald Harris’ medical experts said during his testimony that his addiction to cigarettes resulted in oral cavity cancer, COPD, stroke and lung cancer, which was enough evidence for Patricia Harris’ case.
The court then evaluated the defendants’’ motion to alter or amend the judgment. It said that the defendants were able to ask for an itemized verdict form, but never did. Because of this, the court said it can’t “differentiate, without speculating, which portion of the verdict is for medical expenses and which portion is for pain and suffering.” The court decided it would be best to change the judgment as it relates to each defendant’s liability.
Chief U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. ruled on the case.
A jury sided with Patricia Harris on the negligence and strict liability claims but not the other two. The jury said Gerald Harris was addicted to cigarettes that had nicotine and added that while he got CHD before the Engle class cutoff date, his addiction wasn’t the reason he suffered heart disease.
However, the jury did determine that the addiction did cause oral cavity cancer and lung cancer that lead to his death.
Based on its decision, the jury gave two types of compensatory damages – one for the diseases that didn’t cause his death and one for the diseases that did. Ultimately, the jury ruled on award of $1,326,650 for survival damages concerning cavity cancer, saying Gerald Harris was 60 percent at fault, while giving 15 percent to Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds and 10 percent to Lorillard. It also awarded $400,000 for wrongful death claims as it relates to lung cancer, saying that Harris was 70 percent responsible while the defendants each held 10 percent of the responsibility.
The defendants responded with a motion for judgment in accordance with the jury’s verdict, stating that Harris wasn’t an Engle class member. The court disagreed and said that Harris actually was and gave a judgment to his widow for $1,726,650.