Cohen v. R.J. Reynolds

Summary

Cohen v. RJ Reynolds is an Engle-progeny tobacco trial Robin Cohen's husband was a smoker who died of cancer in 1994.

The defense argued that Mr. Cohen died of cancer of the pleura, not lung cancer, and therefore Cohen was not a victim of lung cancer caused by smoking.

The jury found that Mr. Cohen died of lung cancer and awarded compensatory and punitive damages of $30M.

Visit the CVN blog for more on Cohen v. R.J. Reynolds or other tobacco litigation.

View a free video clip from the case:
Stephanie Parker cross examines Dr. Gary M. Straus -- Clip 1

Outcome

Fault: 33.3%- RJ Reynolds, 33.3%-Philip Morris, 33.3%-Cohen
Damages: 10,000,000
Punitive: 10,000,000- RJ Reynolds, 10,000,000-Philip Morris

Case Information

Attorneys

Witnesses

Plaintiff: Cohen, Robin
Defense: R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.
Verdict: $30,000,000

Judge: Jeffrey Streitfeld
Jurisdiction: 17th Judicial Circuit of Florida
Court: Judicial Complex

Case Number: 07-11515
Industry: Tobacco
Practice Area: Tort Law, Products Liability, Toxic Torts, Tobacco

Plaintiff

Cohen, Robin

Defense

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

Expert Witnesses

Lay Witnesses

Sessions

Attorney

Witness

Type

Description

AM Session

Not in Session

0 Chapters

PM Session

Openings

8 Chapters

MAR

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

5 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:44	Witness Cross Examination		Burns, Dr. David , M.D.	Video Recording
00:19:31	Witness Direct Examination	Trop, Adam	Straus, Dr. Gary	In Person
01:18:16	Break
01:36:04	Witness Cross Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Straus, Dr. Gary	In Person
02:47:07	Break

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

7 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:24	Witness Cross Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Straus, Dr. Gary	In Person
00:15:40	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Trop, Adam	Straus, Dr. Gary	In Person
00:33:57	Witness Direct Examination	Trop, Adam	Gonzalez, Dr. Hugo	In Person
01:15:47	Break
01:35:27	Witness Cross Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Gonzalez, Dr. Hugo	In Person
02:14:37	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Trop, Adam	Gonzalez, Dr. Hugo	In Person
02:25:00	End of Session

MAR

AM Session

Not in Session

0 Chapters

PM Session

Not in Session

0 Chapters

MAR

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

6 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:01:45	Witness Direct Examination	Trop, Adam	Villa, Dr. Luis M.D.	In Person
01:02:05	Break
01:20:10	Witness Cross Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Villa, Dr. Luis M.D.	In Person
02:30:44	General Case Activities
02:31:41	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Villa, Dr. Luis M.D.	In Person
02:50:05	End of Session

PM Session

Defense Witness(es)

6 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:01:00	Witness Direct Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Cole, Timothy MD	In Person
01:11:49	Break
01:33:22	Witness Cross Examination	Trop, Adam	Cole, Timothy MD	In Person
02:18:55	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Cole, Timothy MD	In Person
02:33:30	General Case Activities
02:36:05	General Case Activities		Cole, Timothy MD	In Person

MAR

AM Session

Defense Witness(es)

6 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:01:16	Witness Direct Examination		Klots, Dr. Edward	In Person
01:12:38	Break
01:36:32	Witness Direct Examination		Klots, Dr. Edward	In Person
01:46:43	General Case Activities		Klots, Dr. Edward	In Person
01:49:02	Witness Direct Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Kumar, Dr. Pardesh	In Person
02:43:01	End of Session

PM Session

Defense Witness(es)

9 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:01	Witness Direct Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Kumar, Dr. Pardesh	In Person
00:18:58	Witness Cross Examination	Paige, Gary	Kumar, Dr. Pardesh	In Person
01:16:18	Break
01:36:07	Witness Cross Examination	Paige, Gary	Kumar, Dr. Pardesh	In Person
01:58:11	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Kumar, Dr. Pardesh	In Person
02:11:33	Break
02:15:04	General Case Activities		Kumar, Dr. Pardesh	In Person
02:19:47	Witness Direct Examination	Walker, John	Cohen, Mrs. Robin	In Person
02:38:16	End of Session

MAR

AM Session

Closings

9 Chapters

PM Session

Verdict

1 Chapters

MAR

AM Session

Openings

6 Chapters

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

7 Chapters

MAR

AM Session

Not in Session

0 Chapters

PM Session

Not in Session

0 Chapters

MAR

AM Session

Not in Session

0 Chapters

PM Session

Not in Session

0 Chapters

MAR

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

10 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:01:03	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	In Person
00:13:17	General Case Activities
00:15:34	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	In Person
01:09:27	Break
01:25:08	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	In Person
01:36:28	General Case Activities
01:38:17	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	In Person
02:04:44	General Case Activities
02:07:48	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	In Person
02:33:36	Break

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

9 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:19	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	In Person
01:09:48	General Case Activities
01:13:34	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	In Person
01:18:18	Break
01:36:38	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	In Person
01:52:36	Witness Cross Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	In Person
02:58:12	Break
03:09:03	Witness Cross Examination		Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	In Person
03:35:30	End of Session

MAR

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

6 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:54	Witness Direct Examination	Trop, Adam	Cohen, Mrs. Robin	In Person
00:35:02	Witness Cross Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Cohen, Mrs. Robin	In Person
01:11:11	Break
01:31:47	Witness Cross Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Cohen, Mrs. Robin	In Person
01:52:09	Witness Direct Examination	Trop, Adam	Cohen, Mrs. Stacie	In Person
02:20:07	Break

PM Session

Defense Witness(es)

4 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:06	General Case Activities
00:01:32	Witness Direct Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Centurion, Dr. Jose	Video Recording
00:25:41	Witness Direct Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Gonzalez, Dr. Hugo	Transcript Reading
00:32:22	End of Session

MAR

AM Session

Defense Witness(es)

6 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:54	Witness Direct Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Beckson, Dr. Mace M.D.	In Person
01:14:52	Break
01:33:41	Witness Cross Examination	Paige, Gary	Beckson, Dr. Mace M.D.	In Person
01:46:33	General Case Activities
01:49:02	Witness Cross Examination	Paige, Gary	Beckson, Dr. Mace M.D.	In Person
02:27:59	Break

PM Session

Defense Witness(es)

8 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:38	Witness Cross Examination	Paige, Gary	Beckson, Dr. Mace M.D.	In Person
00:30:37	General Case Activities
00:33:08	Witness Cross Examination	Paige, Gary	Beckson, Dr. Mace M.D.	In Person
01:02:29	General Case Activities		Beckson, Dr. Mace M.D.	In Person
01:07:07	Break
01:28:24	Witness Direct Examination		Cohen, Beth	Video Recording
02:00:00	End of Session
01:58:39	Witness Direct Examination		Cohen, Mrs. Robin	Video Recording

MAR

AM Session

Not in Session

0 Chapters

PM Session

Not in Session

0 Chapters

MAR

AM Session

Defense Witness(es)

4 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:01:00	Witness Direct Examination	Walker, John	Ford, Dr. Lacy	In Person
01:18:51	Break
01:35:03	Witness Direct Examination	Walker, John	Ford, Prof. Lacy	In Person
02:34:52	Break

PM Session

Defense Witness(es)

10 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:36	Witness Direct Examination	Walker, John	Ford, Dr. Lacy	In Person
00:37:14	Witness Cross Examination	Paige, Gary	Ford, Prof. Lacy	In Person
01:20:49	Break
01:45:09	Witness Cross Examination	Paige, Gary	Ford, Dr. Lacy	In Person
02:02:34	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Walker, John	Ford, Dr. Lacy	In Person
02:04:18	Break
02:07:29	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Walker, John	Ford, Prof. Lacy	In Person
02:16:09	General Case Activities
02:25:03	General Case Activities
02:29:04	End of Session

MAR

AM Session

Closings

12 Chapters

PM Session

Not in Session

0 Chapters

MAR

AM Session

Punitive Verdict

3 Chapters

MAR

Recording Disclaimer: This proceeding was recorded in full.

Cohen v. R.J. Reynolds

Summary

Outcome

Sessions

Suggest a Trial

CVN Essentials

Video Library

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:18	General Case Activities
00:16:57	Opening Statement	Trop, Adam
00:55:50	Break
01:08:58	Opening Statement	Parker, Stephanie
01:45:55	Witness Direct Examination	Trop, Adam	Burns, Dr. David , M.D.	Video Recording
02:22:49	Break
02:39:06	Witness Direct Examination	Trop, Adam	Burns, Dr. David , M.D.	Video Recording
03:22:04	End of Session

	Description	Attorney
00:01:20	General Case Activities
00:03:06	Closing Statement	Trop, Adam
00:34:37	Closing Statement	Paige, Gary
00:52:14	Break
01:03:00	Closing Statement	Parker, Stephanie
02:16:47	Break
02:27:48	Closing Statement	Trop, Adam
02:43:46	General Case Activities
02:55:21	End of Session

	Description	Attorney
00:00:41	General Case Activities
00:06:16	Opening Statement	Trop, Adam
00:47:57	Break
01:01:04	Opening Statement	Parker, Stephanie
01:38:10	Opening Statement
02:12:37	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:23	General Case Activities
00:01:57	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Benowitz, Dr. Neal , M.D.	Video Recording
01:16:18	Break
01:32:32	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Benowitz, Dr. Neal , M.D.	In Person
02:28:21	Break
02:42:28	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Benowitz, Dr. Neal , M.D.	In Person
03:37:42	End of Session

	Description	Attorney
00:00:19	General Case Activities
00:01:59	General Case Activities
00:03:10	Closing Statement	Paige, Gary
00:54:55	Closing Statement	Trop, Adam
01:09:19	Break
01:22:54	Closing Statement	Parker, Stephanie
02:15:28	General Case Activities	Parker, Stephanie
02:19:28	Closing Statement
02:44:15	Break
02:57:35	Closing Statement	Paige, Gary
03:10:17	General Case Activities
03:54:47	End of Session

			Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
		00:00:17	General Case Activities
		00:00:53	Reading of the Verdict
		00:04:19	General Case Activities