11th Circuit

Are You Ready For More Tobacco Litigation?

Tobacco cases -- it's the litigation that keeps giving.

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blowing smokeTobacco cases — it’s the litigation that keeps giving.

In a contentious en banc decision — there were three dissents, one of which chastised judges to “stick to our day jobs” instead of advocating for plaintiffs — the Eleventh Circuit found that smokers that were part of a class action against tobacco companies can also file suit in their individual capacity. The decision was 7-3 in favor of the plaintiffs with Judge William Pryor writing for the majority:

This appeal presents the questions whether due process forbids giving a Jury’s findings of negligence and strict liability in a class action against cigarette manufacturers preclusive effect in a later individual suit by a class member and, if not, whether federal law preempts the jury’s findings. Florida smokers and their survivors filed a class action against several tobacco companies, and after a yearlong trial designed to answer common questions concerning the companies’ tortious conduct against all members of the class, a jury found that each company had breached its duty of care and sold defective cigarettes.

After the jury in the underlying class action returned a verdict of strict liability and negligence, the Florida Supreme Court decertified the class to allow for individual questions of causation, damages and comparative fault. The Eleventh Circuit’s decision upholds that posture, and as Law.com reports the decision is a major one:

“It’s a significant decision on the legal fronts that it covers,” said Samuel Issacharoff, the New York University law professor who spoke for the plaintiffs at oral arguments in June of last year.

He added, “It took a while to produce 280 pages of opinions.”

But 238 of those pages were Judge Gerald Tjoflat’s dissent — I guess he’s really tired of tobacco litigation.

11th Circuit Greenlights Smokers’ Suits Against Tobacco Companies [Law.com]

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headshotKathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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