backOn November 4, 2024, King & Spalding secured a complete defense verdict for client R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in a re-trial of an Engle-progeny tobacco case in West Palm Beach, Florida. This case was originally tried in 2021, resulting in an award of $540,000 in compensatory damages and $2 million in punitive damages. After appeal, the case was reversed and remanded for trial on the issues of entitlement to and, if necessary, the amount of punitive damages.
King & Spalding presented a robust defense that focused on the first jury’s finding that the smoker never relied on a statement or omission by any tobacco company, Reynolds’s incessant attempt to make cigarettes safer, and changed circumstances in 2024. Capitalizing on recent development in the law, King & Spalding was able to employ new strategies to focus Plaintiff’s case on the design of cigarettes rather than corporate conduct. In less than two hours, the jury returned a complete defense verdict, finding that punitive damages were not warranted.
The King & Spalding trial team included Philip Green, Ursula Henninger, and Corinne Nabors.