Liggett Settles Lifelong Smoker's Case for $100,000

C. Calvin Warriner III accomplished the seemingly impossible when he got a tobacco company to settle with an injured smoker. But the settlement with Liggett Group is worth just $100,000. The amount accepted by Roslyn Marrazzo is peanuts compared with the Broward Circuit Court jury awards starting at $1.2 million in five lawsuits tried since February. The cases stem from the Florida Supreme Court decision tossing a $145 billion class action verdict while allowing smokers to sue individually for damages.

X

Thank you for sharing!

Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

The good news: C. Calvin Warriner III accomplished the seemingly impossible when he got a tobacco company to settle with an injured smoker. The bad news: The settlement is worth just $100,000. The amount accepted by Roslyn Marrazzo is peanuts compared with the Broward Circuit Court jury awards starting at $1.2 million in five lawsuits tried since February. Accounting for negligence attributed to smokers, the lower award works out to $600,000. The cases stem from the Florida Supreme Court decision tossing a $145 billion class action verdict while allowing smokers to sue individually for damages. Tobacco companies rarely settle. A number of attorneys asked about the settlement — Warriner included — said it was the only settlement they are aware of for a former class member. Warriner, a partner at Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley in West Palm Beach, said he was “disappointed” by the settlement. Marrazzo is the daughter of Pasquale Charles Currao, who smoked primarily Liggett cigarettes starting at 12 in 1939 until he died of lung cancer in 1996. The New York native never quit. “It was a good case, a very nice family with great stories about the smoker, about why he smoked and where and how he smoked and all the times he tried to quit and couldn’t,” Warriner said. He said he didn’t have a figure in mind to propose to a jury, but it would have been a sure bet that the request would have been more than $100,000. “There’s a track record in Broward County of multiple seven-figure awards on these cases,” Warriner said. If tobacco companies settled all 350 pending Broward smoker cases for $100,000, the cost would be about $35 million. Warriner sent a settlement offer to Liggett Group in March on behalf of Marrazzo with the case set for trial this year. Ten days later, Liggett accepted the settlement. Warriner said he didn’t know why Liggett settled. Liggett’s New York attorney, Aaron Marks of Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman, declined to comment for this article. Miami attorney Philip Gerson, who represents smokers and their families in a number of cases against cigarette makers but was not involved in the Marrazzo case, said Liggett is the only tobacco company that ever agrees to settle. “They looked at it as a nuisance-value settlement, where the cost of trying would have greatly exceeded $100,000,” said Gerson of Gerson & Schwartz. He said he hasn’t heard of any other settlements from the disbanded class action but has heard of other Liggett cases being “resolved” in the past. Liggett Chairman Bennett S. LeBow broke ranks with other cigarette makers in 1996 when he acknowledged cigarette smoking is addictive and causes cancer. Liggett was the smallest of the five largest tobacco companies being sued by states and smokers. Warriner said the Marrazzo settlement was all business for Liggett. “The tobacco industry’s history and repeatedly announced intention to the court is to try every single one of their cases, and they will never settle,” Warriner said. “The Liggett people made a solid business decision at the expense of trying their case.”

This content has been archived. It is available exclusively through our partner LexisNexis®.

To view this content, please continue to Lexis Advance®.

Not a Lexis Advance® Subscriber? Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® is now the exclusive third party online distributor of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® customers will be able to access and use ALM's content by subscribing to the LexisNexis® services via Lexis Advance®. This includes content from the National Law Journal®, The American Lawyer®, Law Technology News®, The New York Law Journal® and Corporate Counsel®, as well as ALM's other newspapers, directories, legal treatises, published and unpublished court opinions, and other sources of legal information.

ALM's content plays a significant role in your work and research, and now through this alliance LexisNexis® will bring you access to an even more comprehensive collection of legal content.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]

Trending Stories

 

Featured Product

Global Briefing

A weekly, curated selection of our international content from around the globe, across the business of law, in-house, regulatory, technology and more, with expert insights from our senior editors.

Learn More

More from ALM

 

ALM Legal Publication Newsletters

Sign Up Today and Never Miss Another Story.

As part of your digital membership, you can sign up for an unlimited number of a wide range of complimentary newsletters. Visit your My Account page to make your selections. Get the timely legal news and critical analysis you cannot afford to miss. Tailored just for you. In your inbox. Every day.

Privacy Policy

About Us / Contact Us / Site Map / Advertise With Us/ Customer Service / Terms of Service/ FAQ / Privacy Policy

Publications

Law Topics

Rankings

More

Law.com

Copyright © 2020 ALM Media Properties, LLC. All Rights Reserved.