Schlefstein v. R.J. Reynolds

Summary

In this tobacco litigation case, plaintiff claims nicotine addiction and smoking-related disease were caused by defendant's concealment of smoking's dangers.

Outcome

PUNITIVE DAMAGES - $27,799,999.99

PHASE 1 COMPENSATORY DAMAGES
Total: $13,965,000.00

Medical Expenses: 465,000.00
Pain and Suffering: 13,500,000.00

PHASE 2 PUNITIVE DAMAGES
Total: 27,799,999.99

Blog Posts

$41.7M Award Against RJR for Smoker's COPD One of Largest Engle Tobacco Verdicts in Three Years
Feb 7, 2018

BREAKING: RJR Thumped with $14M Verdict & Possible Punitives for COPD that Forced Lung Transplant
Feb 2, 2018

Lies, Addiction Led to Smoker's Lung Transplant, Atty Argues as Trial Opens Against R.J. Reynolds
Jan 19, 2018

Case Information

Attorneys

Witnesses

Plaintiff: Schlefstein, Dawn
Defense: R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.
Verdict: $41,765,000

Judge: Mily Powell
Jurisdiction: 17th Judicial Circuit of Florida
Court: Judicial Complex

Case Number: 2008-CV-022558
Industry: Tobacco
Practice Area: Tobacco, Products Liability

Plaintiff

Schlefstein, Dawn

Defense

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

Expert Witnesses

Lay Witnesses

SESSIONS

Attorney

Witness

Type

Description

PM Session

Openings

8 Chapters

	Description	Attorney
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:01:37	Opening Statement	Paige, Gary
01:09:37	Opening Statement	Alvarez, Alex
01:20:58	Break
01:43:01	Opening Statement	Persons, W. Ray
02:25:01	Opening Statement	Lehman, Kathryn
03:27:32	General Case Activities
03:31:34	End of Session

JAN

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

5 Chapters

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

5 Chapters

JAN

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

3 Chapters

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

7 Chapters

JAN

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

3 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	In Person
01:17:44	Witness Cross Examination	Persons, W. Ray	Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	In Person
01:26:46	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

6 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Cross Examination	Persons, W. Ray	Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	In Person
01:19:00	Break
01:37:44	Witness Cross Examination	Persons, W. Ray	Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	In Person
02:39:44	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	In Person
03:10:07	General Case Activities		Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	In Person
03:26:18	End of Session

JAN

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

4 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Alvarez, Alex	Kradin, Dr. Richard M.D.	In Person
01:02:25	Break
01:13:47	Witness Cross Examination	Lehman, Kathryn	Kradin, Dr. Richard M.D.	In Person
01:44:06	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

10 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Cross Examination	Lehman, Kathryn	Kradin, Dr. Richard M.D.	In Person
00:02:18	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Alvarez, Alex	Kradin, Dr. Richard M.D.	In Person
00:09:57	General Case Activities
00:17:03	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Alvarez, Alex	Kradin, Dr. Richard M.D.	In Person
00:19:44	General Case Activities		Kradin, Dr. Richard M.D.	In Person
01:07:44	Witness Direct Examination	Alvarez, Alex	Scott, Dr. Ronald M.D.	In Person
02:02:35	Break
02:21:53	Witness Direct Examination	Alvarez, Alex	Scott, Dr. Ronald M.D.	In Person
03:10:39	General Case Activities
03:13:42	End of Session

JAN

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

6 Chapters

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

6 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Cross Examination	Lehman, Kathryn	Scott, Dr. Ronald M.D.	In Person
01:22:08	Break
02:01:56	Witness Cross Examination	Lehman, Kathryn	Scott, Dr. Ronald M.D.	In Person
02:08:15	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Alvarez, Alex	Scott, Dr. Ronald M.D.	In Person
02:34:46	General Case Activities		Scott, Dr. Ronald M.D.	In Person
03:19:53	End of Session

JAN

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

3 Chapters

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

7 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Drobes, Dr. David Ph.D.	In Person
00:44:56	Witness Cross Examination	Lehman, Kathryn	Drobes, Dr. David Ph.D.	In Person
01:26:18	Break
01:59:25	Witness Cross Examination	Lehman, Kathryn	Drobes, Dr. David Ph.D.	In Person
02:49:48	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Drobes, Dr. David Ph.D.	In Person
03:13:14	General Case Activities		Drobes, Dr. David Ph.D.	In Person
03:31:58	End of Session

JAN

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

4 Chapters

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

10 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Alvarez, Alex	Schlefstein, Leslie	In Person
00:02:00	Witness Cross Examination	Persons, W. Ray	Schlefstein, Leslie	In Person
00:54:22	Break
01:15:27	General Case Activities
01:20:43	Witness Cross Examination	Persons, W. Ray	Schlefstein, Leslie	In Person
01:20:55	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Alvarez, Alex	Schlefstein, Leslie	In Person
01:27:18	Witness Direct Examination		Johnston, Donald	Transcript Reading
01:58:45	Witness Direct Examination		Figlar, Dr. James Ph.D.	Video Recording
03:21:22	General Case Activities
03:37:44	End of Session

JAN

AM Session

Defense Witness(es)

5 Chapters

PM Session

Defense Witness(es)

8 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Lehman, Kathryn	Giakas, Dr. William M.D	In Person
00:46:39	Witness Cross Examination	Paige, Gary	Giakas, Dr. William M.D	In Person
01:48:36	Break
02:04:23	Witness Cross Examination	Paige, Gary	Giakas, Dr. William M.D	In Person
03:11:59	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Lehman, Kathryn	Giakas, Dr. William M.D	In Person
03:15:37	General Case Activities		Giakas, Dr. William M.D	In Person
03:17:32	General Case Activities
03:30:26	End of Session

JAN

AM Session

Defense Witness(es)

4 Chapters

PM Session

Closings

9 Chapters

JAN

AM Session

Closings

9 Chapters

PM Session

Closings

9 Chapters

FEB

PM Session

Other

2 Chapters

PM Session

Verdict

4 Chapters

PM Session

Openings - Damages

9 Chapters

FEB

AM Session

Defense Witness(es) - Damages

11 Chapters

PM Session

Closings - Damages

7 Chapters

PM Session

Verdict - Damages

4 Chapters

FEB

Recording Disclaimer: This proceeding was recorded in full.

Schlefstein v. R.J. Reynolds

Summary

Outcome

Blog Posts

SESSIONS

Suggest a Trial

CVN Essentials

Video Library

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:11:06	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	In Person
01:26:42	Break
01:51:51	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	Other
03:06:07	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:03:34	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	In Person
01:36:52	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:03:22	Witness Direct Examination	Alvarez, Alex	Scott, Dr. Ronald M.D.	In Person
01:10:53	Witness Cross Examination	Lehman, Kathryn	Scott, Dr. Ronald M.D.	In Person
01:18:28	Break
01:28:26	Witness Cross Examination	Lehman, Kathryn	Scott, Dr. Ronald M.D.	In Person
01:36:48	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:57:19	Break
01:19:40	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Drobes, Dr. David Ph.D.	In Person

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:24:00	Witness Direct Examination		Borgerding, Dr. Michael	Video Recording
00:41:08	Witness Direct Examination	Alvarez, Alex	Schlefstein, Leslie	In Person
01:31:19	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:33:26	Break
00:41:43	General Case Activities
01:59:29	Witness Direct Examination	Lehman, Kathryn	Giakas, Dr. William M.D	In Person
02:08:10	End of Session

	Description	Attorney
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:31:56	Break
00:37:53	General Case Activities
00:55:01	Break
01:08:22	General Case Activities
01:11:13	General Case Activities
01:35:50	Closing Statement	Paige, Gary
03:03:34	General Case Activities
03:05:19	End of Session

	Description	Attorney
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:04:19	Closing Statement	Alvarez, Alex
00:26:52	Break
00:32:28	General Case Activities
01:09:15	Break
01:18:22	General Case Activities
01:25:14	Break
01:28:25	Closing Statement	Lehman, Kathryn
01:48:17	End of Session

	Description	Attorney
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:02:06	Closing Statement	Lehman, Kathryn
00:45:35	Closing Statement	Persons, W. Ray
01:41:21	Break
02:02:01	General Case Activities
02:07:12	Closing Statement	Alvarez, Alex
02:16:04	Closing Statement	Paige, Gary
02:22:32	General Case Activities
02:41:43	End of Session

			Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
		00:00:00	General Case Activities
		00:01:01	Reading of the Verdict
		00:03:49	General Case Activities
		00:10:41	End of Session

	Description	Attorney
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:05:47	Break
00:22:46	General Case Activities
00:27:35	Opening Statement	Paige, Gary
00:40:54	Opening Statement	Persons, W. Ray
00:54:00	General Case Activities
00:55:39	Break
01:07:39	General Case Activities
01:09:31	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:03:51	Break
00:19:55	Witness Direct Examination	Persons, W. Ray	Potts, Dr. Ryan Ph.D.	In Person
01:09:39	Break
01:19:22	General Case Activities
01:48:32	Witness Cross Examination	Paige, Gary	Potts, Dr. Ryan Ph.D.	In Person
02:31:17	General Case Activities
02:36:24	Break
02:44:17	General Case Activities		Potts, Dr. Ryan Ph.D.	In Person
02:52:14	General Case Activities
02:56:27	End of Session

	Description	Attorney
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:08:28	Closing Statement	Alvarez, Alex
00:26:20	Closing Statement	Lehman, Kathryn
01:04:22	Break
01:15:49	Closing Statement	Paige, Gary
01:32:28	General Case Activities
01:39:25	End of Session

			Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
		00:00:00	General Case Activities
		00:00:48	Reading of the Verdict
		00:01:38	General Case Activities
		00:02:42	End of Session