Plaintiff in Engle Suit Details Divorce for Social Security Benefits

During testimony as part of a defense proffer, Annie Bishop admits that she cited irreconcilable differences as part of a three-day divorce from her husband Jim Bishop in order to obtain social security death benefits for her prior husband, Robert Ramsey, the smoker at the heart of her Engle progeny tobacco lawsuit. Judge Robert Egan ultimately refused to admit the evidence, finding it collateral to the trial’s issues.