Koballa v. Philip Morris

Summary

In this Engle progeny tobacco litigation proceeding, plaintiff Stella Koballa alleged R J Reynolds of fraudulent concealment of dangers of smoking cigarettes manufactured by the company, which led the plaintiff to get addicted to smoking at age 16. The plaintiff also alleged the company of manufacturing defective cigarettes, which caused her lung cancer (later cured) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The plaintiff claimed that her quit attempts included hypnosis, tapes, acupuncture, and a nicotine patch.
The defense argued that Ms. Koballa's COPD was related to meat wrapper's asthma, and that she had long-standing lung problems unrelated to smoking. Also, the defense asserted that Ms. Koballa's claim was barred by Florida's statute of limitations, because she should have known that she was injured by the defendants at least four years prior to the original filing of the Engle class action in May, 1994.

The plaintiff was represented by attorney Dennis Pantazis. The defendant in this case, R J Reynolds was represented by attorney Benjamine Reid.

The jury found in favor of the plaintiff, and awarded $1M in damages, but allocated only 30% of the fault to R.J. Reynolds.

For more details, visit the CVN Blog.

Outcome

Fault: 30%- RJ Reynolds, 70%- Plaintiff
Damages: 1,000,000-Past, 0-Future