The Florida Supreme Court has backed an appeals court’s dismissal of the absurd $145 billion verdict against cigarette makers in the Engle case. The court’s opinion is split in complicated ways, but the defeat for attorney Stanley Rosenblatt is unmistakable. (Daniel Pimlott, “$145bn award against tobacco giants goes up in smoke”, Financial Times/MSNBC, Jul. 6). The opinion is here (PDF)(via Bashman). I’ve written extensively about the Engle case at earlier stages, including op-eds for the Wall Street Journal Jul. 12, 1999, Jul. 18, 2000 and May 23, 2003. Much more background here.
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In Florida; Stanley and Susan Rosenblatt; tobacco
Juries need to be educated that such awards lead to declaration of bankruptcy and then nobody gets nothing!
Course the next class action may be filed against the legal industry and the attorney firm that caused them to lose their job as well. Who knows maybe the legal industry won’t mind paying $15 an hour workers several $1000 an hour for their unemployment!
I can hardly wait!
Someone needs to recognize that it’s the additives in American cigarettes that kills, not tobacco its self. I’m an Ultra-left democrat, and I smoke. I Import my cigarettes from foreign countries so as not to have the American additives.