Sherman v. RJR Reynolds

Summary

Plaintiff Melba Sherman's husband, John Sherman, died of lung cancer in 1996, after smoking 3-4 packs of Lucky Strike and Winston cigarettes for over 50 years. According to the defense, Sherman enjoyed smoking, chose to smoke, knew the risks, and made no serious attempt to quit.

The jury found that Sherman was addicted to nicotine and that Sherman's addiction was the legal cause of death. The jury apportioned liability 50% each to John Sherman and RJ Reynolds, based on RJ Reynolds' concealment of the dangers, and found damages of $1.55M.

Outcome

Fault: RJ Reynoldsd-50%, John Sherman 50%
Martha Sherman's Loss: 1,550,000

Case Information

Attorneys

Witnesses

Plaintiff: Sherman, Melba
Defense: R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.
Verdict: $1,550,000

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

Case Number: 07-23438
Industry: Tobacco
Practice Area: Products Liability, Tobacco, Tort Law, Toxic Torts

Plaintiff

Sherman, Melba

Defense

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

Represented By:
Parker, Stephanie (Jones Day)

Expert Witnesses

Lay Witnesses

Sessions

Attorney

Witness

Type

Description

AM Session

Openings

5 Chapters

	Description	Attorney
00:00:16	General Case Activities
00:01:20	General Case Activities
00:18:22	Opening Statement	Trop, Adam
01:11:53	Opening Statement	Parker, Stephanie
02:17:20	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

10 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:53	Witness Direct Examination	Trop, Adam	Glassman, Dr. Alexander	In Person
00:29:27	General Case Activities
00:31:40	Witness Direct Examination	Trop, Adam	Glassman, Dr. Alexander	In Person
00:32:46	General Case Activities
00:45:20	Witness Direct Examination	Trop, Adam	Glassman, Dr. Alexander	In Person
01:04:21	General Case Activities
01:07:14	Break
01:10:42	Witness Direct Examination	Trop, Adam	Glassman, Dr. Alexander	In Person
01:31:09	Witness Cross Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Glassman, Dr. Alexander	In Person
02:32:05	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Trop, Adam	Glassman, Dr. Alexander	In Person

APR

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

14 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:52	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	In Person
00:14:58	General Case Activities
00:17:43	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	In Person
00:18:57	General Case Activities
00:22:52	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	In Person
00:29:58	General Case Activities
00:35:25	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	In Person
00:56:00	General Case Activities
00:57:54	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	In Person
01:38:45	General Case Activities
01:41:50	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	In Person
01:57:00	General Case Activities
02:04:08	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	In Person
02:16:07	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

12 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:16	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	In Person
00:31:00	General Case Activities
00:42:11	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	In Person
01:01:20	General Case Activities
01:02:55	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	In Person
01:14:51	Break
01:16:11	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	In Person
01:21:00	Witness Cross Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	In Person
01:39:05	General Case Activities
01:42:40	Witness Cross Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	In Person
02:43:45	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Proctor, Dr. Robert , Ph.D.	In Person
02:47:08	End of Session

APR

AM Session

Not in Session

0 Chapters

PM Session

Not in Session

0 Chapters

APR

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

13 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:40	General Case Activities
00:21:08	Break
00:27:15	Witness Direct Examination	Trop, Adam	Strauss, Dr. Gary	In Person
00:49:44	General Case Activities
00:54:57	Witness Direct Examination	Trop, Adam	Strauss, Dr. Gary	In Person
01:05:40	Witness Cross Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Strauss, Dr. Gary	In Person
01:07:50	General Case Activities
01:11:48	Witness Cross Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Strauss, Dr. Gary	In Person
01:20:05	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Trop, Adam	Strauss, Dr. Gary	In Person
01:24:22	Break
01:25:06	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Kyriakoudes, Prof. Louis	In Person
02:20:06	General Case Activities
02:23:19	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Kyriakoudes, Prof. Louis	In Person

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

13 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:02:18	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Kyriakoudes, Prof. Louis	In Person
00:13:28	General Case Activities
00:14:55	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Kyriakoudes, Prof. Louis	In Person
00:45:05	General Case Activities
00:45:38	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Kyriakoudes, Prof. Louis	In Person
01:05:11	Break
01:05:48	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Kyriakoudes, Prof. Louis	In Person
01:19:30	General Case Activities
01:21:35	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Kyriakoudes, Prof. Louis	In Person
01:50:25	General Case Activities
01:54:53	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Kyriakoudes, Prof. Louis	In Person
02:01:36	General Case Activities
02:04:42	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Kyriakoudes, Prof. Louis	In Person

APR

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

9 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:06:03	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Kyriakoudes, Prof. Louis	In Person
00:09:42	Witness Cross Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Kyriakoudes, Prof. Louis	In Person
01:04:39	General Case Activities
01:08:07	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Kyriakoudes, Prof. Louis	In Person
01:19:00	General Case Activities
01:20:30	Witness Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Sherman, Melba	In Person
01:40:44	Witness Cross Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Sherman, Melba	In Person
02:19:42	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Paige, Gary	Sherman, Melba	In Person

PM Session

Defense Witness(es)

5 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:07	General Case Activities
00:05:23	General Case Activities
00:10:53	Witness Direct Examination	Riegert, Paul	Sherman, Mr. Robert	Video Recording
00:47:58	Witness Direct Examination	Riegert, Paul	Ekins, Robin	Video Recording
01:25:10	Witness Direct Examination	Riegert, Paul	Sanderson , Marie	Video Recording

APR

AM Session

Defense Witness(es)

3 Chapters

PM Session

Defense Witness(es)

11 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:03:25	Witness Cross Examination	Paige, Gary	Ford, Prof. Lacy	In Person
00:12:53	General Case Activities
00:14:19	Witness Cross Examination	Paige, Gary	Ford, Prof. Lacy	In Person
01:11:17	General Case Activities
01:13:33	Witness Cross Examination	Paige, Gary	Ford, Prof. Lacy	In Person
01:27:32	General Case Activities
01:34:45	Witness Cross Examination	Paige, Gary	Ford, Prof. Lacy	In Person
02:08:48	General Case Activities
02:09:18	Witness Re-Direct Examination		Ford, Prof. Lacy	In Person
02:29:34	Witness Direct Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Sreenivasan, Dr. Shova	In Person
02:54:55	General Case Activities

APR

AM Session

Defense Witness(es)

14 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Sreenivasan, Dr. Shova	In Person
00:15:39	Witness Cross Examination	Paige, Gary	Sreenivasan, Dr. Shova	In Person
01:05:37	General Case Activities
01:11:51	Witness Cross Examination	Paige, Gary	Sreenivasan, Dr. Shova	In Person
01:47:30	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Sreenivasan, Dr. Shova	In Person
02:04:07	General Case Activities
02:06:05	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Sreenivasan, Dr. Shova	In Person
02:17:44	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Paige, Gary	Sreenivasan, Dr. Shova	In Person
02:19:39	General Case Activities
02:20:45	Witness Direct Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Figlar, Dr. James Ph.D.	In Person
02:28:40	General Case Activities
02:30:22	Witness Direct Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Figlar, Dr. James Ph.D.	In Person
02:35:30	General Case Activities
02:55:45	End of Session

PM Session

Defense Witness(es)

12 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:35	Witness Direct Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Figlar, Dr. James Ph.D.	In Person
00:17:03	General Case Activities
00:36:40	Witness Direct Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Figlar, Dr. James Ph.D.	In Person
01:27:18	Break
01:28:35	Witness Direct Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Figlar, Dr. James Ph.D.	In Person
01:34:30	Witness Cross Examination	Alvarez, Alex	Figlar, Dr. James Ph.D.	In Person
02:21:08	General Case Activities
02:23:08	Witness Cross Examination	Alvarez, Alex	Figlar, Dr. James Ph.D.	In Person
02:31:45	General Case Activities
02:34:07	Witness Cross Examination	Alvarez, Alex	Figlar, Dr. James Ph.D.	In Person
02:54:53	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Figlar, Dr. James Ph.D.	In Person
03:11:03	General Case Activities

APR

AM Session

Defense Witness(es)

11 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:04	General Case Activities
00:15:28	Witness Direct Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Barsky, Dr. Sandford M.D.	In Person
01:03:41	General Case Activities
01:11:26	Witness Direct Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Barsky, Dr. Sandford M.D.	In Person
01:31:08	General Case Activities
01:32:35	Witness Direct Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Barsky, Dr. Sandford M.D.	In Person
01:36:08	General Case Activities
01:38:02	Witness Direct Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Barsky, Dr. Sandford M.D.	In Person
01:43:46	Witness Cross Examination	Trop, Adam	Barsky, Dr. Sandford M.D.	In Person
02:15:33	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Barsky, Dr. Sandford M.D.	In Person
02:21:30	General Case Activities

PM Session

Closings

12 Chapters

MAY

AM Session

Other

2 Chapters

PM Session

Verdict

3 Chapters

MAY

AM Session

Punitive Phase

15 Chapters

PM Session

Punitive Phase

11 Chapters

MAY

AM Session

Punitive Phase

9 Chapters

PM Session

Punitive Phase

2 Chapters

MAY

AM Session

Punitive Verdict

4 Chapters

PM Session

Not in Session

0 Chapters

MAY

Sherman v. RJR Reynolds

Summary

Outcome

Sessions

Suggest a Trial

CVN Essentials

Video Library

	Description	Witness	Presence
00:00:57	Witness Direct Examination	Ford, Prof. Lacy	In Person
02:16:37	General Case Activities
02:18:47	Witness Direct Examination	Ford, Prof. Lacy	In Person

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:01:06	Witness Direct Examination	Riegert, Paul	Bells, Laurene	Video Recording
00:21:05	Witness Direct Examination	Riegert, Paul	Sherman, Melba	Video Recording
00:28:35	General Case Activities
00:36:55	General Case Activities
00:39:00	Closing Statement	Alvarez, Alex
01:14:51	Closing Statement	Paige, Gary
01:45:34	General Case Activities
01:49:30	Closing Statement	Parker, Stephanie
03:00:55	Closing Statement	Alvarez, Alex
03:11:06	General Case Activities
03:23:13	General Case Activities

			Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
		00:00:00	Reading of the Verdict
		00:01:28	General Case Activities
		01:10:10	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:10:45	General Case Activities
00:16:46	Opening Statement	Alvarez, Alex
00:29:49	Opening Statement	Paige, Gary
00:40:45	Opening Statement	Parker, Stephanie
01:07:47	General Case Activities
01:11:52	Witness Direct Examination	Trop, Adam	Sherman, Melba	In Person
01:29:11	Witness Cross Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Sherman, Melba	In Person
01:44:14	General Case Activities
01:48:34	Witness Cross Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Sherman, Melba	In Person
01:53:20	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Trop, Adam	Sherman, Melba	In Person
01:55:35	General Case Activities
01:57:43	Witness Direct Examination		Sherman, Mr. Robert	Video Recording
02:00:37	Witness Direct Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Figlar, Dr. James Ph.D.	In Person
02:27:22	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:06:44	Witness Direct Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Figlar, Dr. James Ph.D.	In Person
00:45:07	General Case Activities
00:46:44	Witness Direct Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Figlar, Dr. James Ph.D.	In Person
01:03:20	Witness Cross Examination	Alvarez, Alex	Figlar, Dr. James Ph.D.	In Person
01:37:09	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Parker, Stephanie	Figlar, Dr. James Ph.D.	In Person
01:45:45	Witness Direct Examination		Sherman, Mr. Robert	Video Recording
01:50:10	Witness Direct Examination		Sherman, Melba	Video Recording
01:54:07	General Case Activities
01:59:51	General Case Activities
03:25:00	End of Session

	Description	Attorney
00:00:10	General Case Activities
00:15:55	General Case Activities
00:19:00	Closing Statement	Trop, Adam
00:57:30	Closing Statement	Paige, Gary
01:23:37	Closing Statement	Parker, Stephanie
02:37:36	Closing Statement	Paige, Gary
02:48:55	General Case Activities
03:17:18	General Case Activities
03:56:00	General Case Activities

			Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
		00:00:00	General Case Activities
		00:15:13	Reading of the Verdict
		00:17:57	General Case Activities
		00:29:25	End of Session