Engle jury awards $29 million in damages against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.
A Florida jury Tuesday handed R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. compensatory and punitive damages totaling nearly $29 million in one of the largest Engle plaintiff victories in recent years.
The jury found in favor of the widower of Elaine Konzelman, who died in 2010 at age 79 after suffering from chronic respiratory disease.
Engle progeny lawsuits sprang from a decision in 2006 by the Florida Supreme Court that decertified a $145 billion class-action lawsuit initially filed by Howard Engle. That ruling limits former class members to filing individual lawsuits stating that cigarettes caused their respective illnesses.
According to Courtroom Video Network, Elaine Konzelman began smoking at age 15 and smoked one to two packs a day for 40 years.
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