After a Florida court issued the latest appellate ruling Tuesday in the so-called Engle progeny tobacco litigation, news headlines cast the ruling as a victory for defendant R.J. Reynolds. And it’s true that the opinion contained some good news for RJR and its lawyers at Jones Day: A panel of the state’s 1st District Court of Appeal overturned a $40.8 million punitive damages award won by the widow of Frank Townsend, ruling that the cigarette maker could seek a new trial on punies or allow the lower court to grant a reduced award.
But in the context of the larger Engle litigation, the ruling hardly counts as big win for the tobacco industry. The appellate court upheld by 2-1 the trial court’s $10.8 million compensatory damages award, $5.5 million of which was apportioned to the smoker’s estate based on the jury’s findings. While the majority found that the $40.8 punitive award was “excessive,” it suggested that a $25 million punitive award in a parallel case was not excessive. And perhaps most importantly, the panel rejected outright RJR’s argument that the Florida courts are violating its due process rights in the Townsend case and thousands of related suits.
