• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
MENUMENU
MENUMENU
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • FlaglerLive Board of Directors
    • Comment Policy
    • Mission Statement
    • Our Values
    • Privacy Policy
  • Live Calendar
  • Submit Obituary
  • Submit an Event
  • Support FlaglerLive
  • Advertise on FlaglerLive (386) 503-3808
  • Search Results

FlaglerLive

No Bull, no Fluff, No Smudges

MENUMENU
  • Flagler
    • Flagler County Commission
    • Beverly Beach
    • Economic Development Council
    • Flagler History
    • Mondex/Daytona North
    • The Hammock
    • Tourist Development Council
  • Palm Coast
    • Palm Coast City Council
    • Palm Coast Crime
  • Bunnell
    • Bunnell City Commission
    • Bunnell Crime
  • Flagler Beach
    • Flagler Beach City Commission
    • Flagler Beach Crime
  • Cops/Courts
    • Circuit & County Court
    • Florida Supreme Court
    • Federal Courts
    • Flagler 911
    • Fire House
    • Flagler County Sheriff
    • Flagler Jail Bookings
    • Traffic Accidents
  • Rights & Liberties
    • Fourth Amendment
    • First Amendment
    • Privacy
    • Second Amendment
    • Seventh Amendment
    • Sixth Amendment
    • Sunshine Law
    • Third Amendment
    • Religion & Beliefs
    • Human Rights
    • Immigration
    • Labor Rights
    • 14th Amendment
    • Civil Rights
  • Schools
    • Adult Education
    • Belle Terre Elementary
    • Buddy Taylor Middle
    • Bunnell Elementary
    • Charter Schools
    • Daytona State College
    • Flagler County School Board
    • Flagler Palm Coast High School
    • Higher Education
    • Imagine School
    • Indian Trails Middle
    • Matanzas High School
    • Old Kings Elementary
    • Rymfire Elementary
    • Stetson University
    • Wadsworth Elementary
    • University of Florida/Florida State
  • Economy
    • Jobs & Unemployment
    • Business & Economy
    • Development & Sprawl
    • Leisure & Tourism
    • Local Business
    • Local Media
    • Real Estate & Development
    • Taxes
  • Commentary
    • The Conversation
    • Pierre Tristam
    • Diane Roberts
    • Guest Columns
    • Byblos
    • Editor's Blog
  • Culture
    • African American Cultural Society
    • Arts in Palm Coast & Flagler
    • Books
    • City Repertory Theatre
    • Flagler Auditorium
    • Flagler Playhouse
    • Flagler Youth Orchestra
    • Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra
    • Palm Coast Arts Foundation
    • Special Events
  • Elections 2024
    • Amendments and Referendums
    • Presidential Election
    • Campaign Finance
    • City Elections
    • Congressional
    • Constitutionals
    • Courts
    • Governor
    • Polls
    • Voting Rights
  • Florida
    • Federal Politics
    • Florida History
    • Florida Legislature
    • Florida Legislature
    • Ron DeSantis
  • Health & Society
    • Flagler County Health Department
    • Ask the Doctor Column
    • Health Care
    • Health Care Business
    • Covid-19
    • Children and Families
    • Medicaid and Medicare
    • Mental Health
    • Poverty
    • Violence
  • All Else
    • Daily Briefing
    • Americana
    • Obituaries
    • News Briefs
    • Weather and Climate
    • Wildlife

Florida Supreme Court Deals Another Blow to Tobacco Industry, Rejecting Disease Defense

March 24, 2016 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

rj reynolds
R.J. Reynolds is overruled. (Matthias Ott)

For the second week in a row, Florida Supreme Court justices have ruled against the tobacco industry’s attempts to fend off costly lawsuits about illnesses and deaths linked to smoking.

Justices, in a 5-2 ruling Thursday, rejected R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.’s arguments in a Broward County case stemming from the 2002 death of George Ciccone, who started smoking as a child.

The ruling could affect other tobacco cases throughout the state that are part of a collection of lawsuits known as “Engle progeny” cases. Those lawsuits are an outgrowth of a 2006 Florida Supreme Court decision that established crucial findings about the dangers of smoking and misrepresentation by cigarette makers.

The Supreme Court last week ruled against R.J. Reynolds on another legal issue that could expose cigarette makers to more punitive damages in Engle progeny cases.

Thursday’s ruling, which drew a sharp dissent from justices Ricky Polston and Charles Canady, dealt with a dispute about how courts should determine when smoking-related diseases “manifested.” As in the Ciccone lawsuit, that can be a critical question because the 2006 Supreme Court decision limited the class of smokers eligible to take advantage of the Engle case findings. The class is limited to smokers whose diseases manifested by Nov. 21, 1996 — what the Supreme Court labeled Thursday as a “cut-off date.”

At least part of the issue in the Ciccone case was that he was not diagnosed with smoking-related peripheral vascular disease until after the 1996 cut-off date.

R.J. Reynolds argued that Ciccone was not eligible to be part of the Engle class, but the Supreme Court upheld a decision by the 4th District Court of Appeal and said manifestation involves when smokers started suffering from symptoms of tobacco-related diseases — not when they were formally diagnosed. A lower court found that applied to Ciccone.

“For the reasons explained in this opinion, we hold that ‘manifestation’ for purposes of establishing membership in the Engle class is defined as the point at which the plaintiff began suffering from or experiencing symptoms of a tobacco-related disease or medical condition,” said Thursday’s majority opinion, written by Justice Barbara Pariente and joined by Chief Justice Jorge Labarga and justices R. Fred Lewis, Peggy Quince and James E.C. “Under the definition we adopt, the plaintiff does not need to have been formally diagnosed or know that the symptoms were tobacco-related prior to the ‘cut-off date’ for class membership.”

But Polston, writing in a dissent joined by Canady, said the majority’s ruling on the manifestation issue was contrary to legal precedent from cases that involve what are known as “creeping” diseases.

“Its policy views aside, the majority is simply wrong on the law because, in the creeping disease context, if a plaintiff does not know (or should not reasonably know) of the link between the product and the injury, the cause of action simply does not exist,” Polston wrote.

The lawsuit was filed against R.J Reynolds by Pamela Ciccone, the widow of George Ciccone. A jury sided with Pamela Ciccone and approved an award that called for the tobacco company to pay about $1 million in damages, according to Thursday’s ruling.

In a 2014 court filing in another case, R.J. Reynolds said more than 8,000 Engle progeny cases had been filed, with more than 4,000 pending at the time in state and federal courts.

–Jim Saunders, News Service of Florida

Support FlaglerLive's End of Year Fundraiser
Thank you readers for getting us to--and past--our year-end fund-raising goal yet again. It’s a bracing way to mark our 15th year at FlaglerLive. Our donors are just a fraction of the 25,000 readers who seek us out for the best-reported, most timely, trustworthy, and independent local news site anywhere, without paywall. FlaglerLive is free. Fighting misinformation and keeping democracy in the sunshine 365/7/24 isn’t free. Take a brief moment, become a champion of fearless, enlightening journalism. Any amount helps. We’re a 501(c)(3) non-profit news organization. Donations are tax deductible.  
You may donate openly or anonymously.
We like Zeffy (no fees), but if you prefer to use PayPal, click here.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dave says

    March 25, 2016 at 1:07 pm

    By now people should know you smoke expect cancer later in life.

  2. Sherry says

    March 25, 2016 at 4:30 pm

    Let’s all actually “read” the details of these articles shall we. . . this case was about a man who died from smoking in 2002, but whose symptoms dated back prior to Nov. of 1996. He was addicted to nicotine from childhood. He suffered a very long, slow death, and his widow only received the same monetary judgement as those who were burned from spilled coffee.

    Of course those who start smoking NOW. . . with hazard labels on cigarette packs, and the quite common knowledge that tobacco kills. . . should certainly know better than to indulge.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Conner Bosch law attorneys lawyers offices palm coast flagler county
  • grand living realty
  • politis matovina attorneys for justice personal injury law auto truck accidents

Primary Sidebar

  • grand living realty
  • politis matovina attorneys for justice personal injury law auto truck accidents

Recent Comments

  • Edgar Williams on Palm Coast City Attorney Calls Mayor Norris ‘Unprofessional and Inappropriate’ 3 Weeks After Censure for Similar Behavior
  • Kennan on Israel’s Catastrophic Starvation of Gaza’s Millions
  • Jane Gentile-Youd on Dog Surfing Hilarity Conquers Flagler Beach as Chi-weenie, Corgis and Costumes Thrill to 4th Hang 8 Extravaganza
  • anonymous on An Ugly Town Meeting in Marineland as Questions Hang Over Legality of Mayor’s Unilateral Appointment of a Commissioner
  • The truth on Margaritaville’s Compass Hotel in Flagler Beach Opens in Buffett-Themed Celebration of a Downtown Remade
  • PeachesMcGee on Palm Coast’s Golden Chopsticks Buffet Open Again 2 Days After Sanitation Inspection Ordered It Closed
  • Roy on Margaritaville’s Compass Hotel in Flagler Beach Opens in Buffett-Themed Celebration of a Downtown Remade
  • PDE on Palm Coast’s Golden Chopsticks Buffet Open Again 2 Days After Sanitation Inspection Ordered It Closed
  • Ryan Jones on Margaritaville’s Compass Hotel in Flagler Beach Opens in Buffett-Themed Celebration of a Downtown Remade
  • Flagler Beach Resident on Margaritaville’s Compass Hotel in Flagler Beach Opens in Buffett-Themed Celebration of a Downtown Remade
  • Dusty on An Ugly Town Meeting in Marineland as Questions Hang Over Legality of Mayor’s Unilateral Appointment of a Commissioner
  • Nephew Of Uncle Sam on An Ugly Town Meeting in Marineland as Questions Hang Over Legality of Mayor’s Unilateral Appointment of a Commissioner
  • Pete on Margaritaville’s Compass Hotel in Flagler Beach Opens in Buffett-Themed Celebration of a Downtown Remade
  • Tony Mack on The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, May 22, 2025
  • Joseph on Maga’s Fearful War on Universities
  • bruces on Palm Coast Mayor Norris Sues Palm Coast, Seeking Councilman Gambaro Booted and Special Election Held

Log in