Philip Morris, RJ Reynolds Topple Smoking Claims In W.Va.
05/15/2013A West Virginia state court jury returned a verdict Wednesday largely in favor of tobacco industry giants like Philip Morris USA Inc., Lorillard Tobacco Co. and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., in consolidated product liability litigation brought by and for hundreds of smokers.
At the phase one trial involving roughly 600 individual lawsuits against major tobacco industry players, the jury shot down the plaintiffs' claims for negligence, design defect, failure to warn, breach of warranty and concealment, as well as their bid for punitive damages, according to Philip Morris parent company Altria Group Inc. The suits also targeted Brown & Williamson and American Tobacco Co.
The jury did side with the plaintiffs on one claim that accused tobacco companies of failing to instruct users of ventilated filter cigarettes not to cover up the vent holes, according to a representative for King & Spalding LLP, counsel to R.J. Reynolds. That claim covered only the period from 1964 to July 1, 1969, the firm said.
Altria said the verdict did not award any monetary damages. It came at the end of a four-week trial aimed at determining any common issues in the lawsuits alleging that the companies' made defective cigarettes and hid the dangers of smoking.
Phase two of the trial plan, developed by the court to handle the mass litigation over alleged conduct spanning five decades, will be aimed at resolving individual claims.
Kenneth McClain of Humphrey Farrington & McClain PC, who represents the plaintiffs, told Law360 on Wednesday that the instruction claim that survived the verdict was a "tremendously important" part of the case.
"We're gratified that the jury found for us on the instruction claim," McClain said, adding that the tobacco companies will likely appeal that finding.
Murray Garnick, a senior vice president and associate general counsel at Altria, said in the company's press release that Altria believed the jury appropriately rejected the claims it did, and that Philip Morris had "strong defenses" in the event that any plaintiff chose to pursue the single claim that did not end in the tobacco industry's favor.
Representatives for Lorillard and Reynolds did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The phase one trial got under way April 22 after suffering through three mistrials, King & Spalding's representative said.
The plaintiffs are represented by James F. Humphreys & Associates LC, The Calwell Practice PLLC, Willis & Chattin, Humphrey Farrington & McClain PC, Leyh & Leyh LLC, Goldberg Persky & White PC and Casey Law Offices, among others.
The defendants are represented by King & Spalding LLP and Allen Guthrie & Thomas PLLC, among others. Lorillard is represented by Thompson Coburn LLP.
The case is In re: Tobacco Litigation (Individual Personal Injury Cases), case number 00-C-5000, in the Circuit Court of Ohio County, West Virginia.