A Coral Gables attorney scored a seven-figure jury award in the Palm Beach County Circuit Court for the widow of a deceased smoker.

And Richard J. Diaz, who represented the widow of Lloyd Spurlock against R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., said this trial presented a situation that he has never encountered in his legal practice: Two jurors nodding off and falling asleep as lawyers presented their arguments.

Coral Gables attorney Richard J. Diaz. Courtesy photo Coral Gables attorney Richard J. Diaz. Courtesy photo