Sulcer v. R.J. Reynolds

Summary

In this Engle progeny tobacco litigation proceeding, plaintiff Betty Sulcer (personal representative of the estate of Billy Sulcer) alleged R J Reynolds Tobacco Co and Lorillard Tobacco Co of fraudulent concealment of dangers of smoking cigarettes manufactured by the company which led her husband Billy Sulcer to get addicted to smoking at an early age. The plaintiff also alleged the companies of manufacturing defective cigarettes which caused Mr. Sulcer Lung Cancer and resulted in his death in the year 1993.

The plaintiff was represented by the attorneys Robert Loehr and Matthew Schultz. The defense in this case comprised of Lorillard Tobacco Co and RJ Reynolds. Lorillard Tobacco Co was represented by attorneys William Boggs and Bruce Tepikian. R J Reynolds was represented by attorney Randal Baringer.

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Outcome

Fault: Lorillard- 5%, Plaintiff- 95%
Damages: 225,000
Punitive: No

Case Information

Attorneys

Witnesses

Plaintiff: Sulcer, Betty
Defense: Lorillard Tobacco Co
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.
Verdict: $225,000

Judge: Terry Terrell
Jurisdiction: 1st Judicial Circuit of Florida
Court: M.C. Blanchard Judicial Building

Case Number: 2007-CA-2540
Industry: Tobacco
Practice Area: Tobacco, Products Liability, Toxic Torts, Negligence, Tort Law

Plaintiff

Sulcer, Betty

Defense

Lorillard Tobacco Co

Represented By:
Boggs, William (DLA Piper)
Tepikian, Bruce (Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP)

Defense

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

Represented By:
Baringer, Randal (Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, LLP)

Sessions

Attorney

Witness

Type

Description

AM Session

Openings

6 Chapters

	Description	Attorney
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:13:32	Opening Statement	Loehr, Robert
00:53:52	General Case Activities
01:20:59	Break
01:42:00	Opening Statement	Boggs, William
02:34:45	End of Session

PM Session

Openings

3 Chapters

PM Session

Openings

9 Chapters

APR

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

13 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
01:06:19	General Case Activities
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Schultz, Matthew	Krugman, Dr. Dean	In Person
00:59:52	Witness Cross Examination	Boggs, William	Krugman, Dr. Dean	In Person
01:21:20	Break
00:25:09	Witness Cross Examination	Boggs, William	Krugman, Dr. Dean	In Person
00:57:38	General Case Activities
01:09:39	Witness Cross Examination	Boggs, William	Krugman, Dr. Dean	In Person
01:44:08	Witness Cross Examination	Boggs, William	Krugman, Dr. Dean	In Person
02:03:35	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Schultz, Matthew	Krugman, Dr. Dean	In Person
02:12:52	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Boggs, William	Krugman, Dr. Dean	In Person
02:13:52	General Case Activities
02:17:30	Witness Direct Examination	Loehr, Robert	Henningfield, Dr. Jack , Ph.D.	Audio Recording
02:46:25	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

12 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Loehr, Robert	Henningfield, Dr. Jack , Ph.D.	In Person
00:41:52	Break
00:59:14	Witness Direct Examination	Loehr, Robert	Henningfield, Dr. Jack , Ph.D.	In Person
01:57:51	Break
02:09:29	Witness Direct Examination	Loehr, Robert	Henningfield, Dr. Jack , Ph.D.	In Person
02:38:17	Break
02:47:15	Witness Cross Examination	Tepikian, Bruce	Henningfield, Dr. Jack , Ph.D.	In Person
03:06:41	General Case Activities
03:16:19	Witness Cross Examination	Tepikian, Bruce	Henningfield, Dr. Jack , Ph.D.	In Person
03:46:41	General Case Activities
03:51:04	Witness Cross Examination	Tepikian, Bruce	Henningfield, Dr. Jack , Ph.D.	In Person
03:53:09	End of Session

APR

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

10 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Cross Examination	Tepikian, Bruce	Henningfield, Dr. Jack , Ph.D.	In Person
00:04:33	General Case Activities
00:09:26	Witness Cross Examination	Tepikian, Bruce	Henningfield, Dr. Jack , Ph.D.	In Person
00:32:09	General Case Activities
00:33:01	Witness Cross Examination	Tepikian, Bruce	Henningfield, Dr. Jack , Ph.D.	In Person
01:02:27	Break
01:35:21	Witness Cross Examination	Tepikian, Bruce	Henningfield, Dr. Jack , Ph.D.	In Person
01:52:07	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Loehr, Robert	Henningfield, Dr. Jack , Ph.D.	In Person
02:14:44	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Baringer, Randal	Henningfield, Dr. Jack , Ph.D.	In Person
02:19:53	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

12 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:01	Witness Direct Examination	Schultz, Matthew	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
00:45:02	Break
01:06:22	Witness Direct Examination	Schultz, Matthew	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
01:12:30	General Case Activities
01:20:42	Witness Direct Examination	Schultz, Matthew	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
01:54:07	Break
02:02:10	Witness Direct Examination	Schultz, Matthew	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
02:26:44	General Case Activities
02:29:41	Witness Direct Examination	Schultz, Matthew	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
02:56:53	Break
03:04:42	Witness Direct Examination	Schultz, Matthew	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
04:27:09	End of Session

APR

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

6 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Schultz, Matthew	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
00:55:48	General Case Activities
01:03:41	Witness Direct Examination	Schultz, Matthew	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
01:22:10	Break
01:43:42	Witness Direct Examination	Schultz, Matthew	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
02:44:38	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

12 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:01	Witness Cross Examination	Boggs, William	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
00:39:42	General Case Activities
00:55:15	Witness Cross Examination	Boggs, William	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
01:18:09	General Case Activities
01:21:45	Witness Cross Examination	Boggs, William	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
02:05:42	Break
02:27:06	Witness Cross Examination	Boggs, William	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
03:20:37	Break
03:28:01	Witness Cross Examination	Boggs, William	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
03:57:59	General Case Activities
04:10:15	Witness Cross Examination	Boggs, William	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
04:13:23	End of Session

APR

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

8 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Cross Examination	Boggs, William	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
00:59:14	General Case Activities
01:00:51	Break
01:07:42	Witness Cross Examination	Boggs, William	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
01:31:09	Witness Cross Examination	Baringer, Randal	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
01:35:16	General Case Activities
01:39:52	Witness Cross Examination	Baringer, Randal	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
01:49:07	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

14 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Cross Examination	Baringer, Randal	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
00:44:44	Break
01:05:05	Witness Cross Examination	Baringer, Randal	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
01:22:41	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Schultz, Matthew	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
01:30:06	General Case Activities
01:34:54	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Schultz, Matthew	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
02:15:48	General Case Activities
02:21:30	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Schultz, Matthew	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
02:30:59	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Boggs, William	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
02:33:10	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Baringer, Randal	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
02:35:53	Break
02:57:45	General Case Activities
02:58:46	Witness Direct Examination		Cook, Dr. Christopher	Video Recording
04:41:12	End of Session

APR

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

6 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Loehr, Robert	Burns, Dr. David , M.D.	In Person
01:05:09	Break
01:29:30	Witness Direct Examination	Loehr, Robert	Burns, Dr. David , M.D.	In Person
02:34:04	General Case Activities
02:39:50	Witness Direct Examination	Loehr, Robert	Burns, Dr. David , M.D.	In Person
02:44:40	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

13 Chapters

APR

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

2 Chapters

			Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
		00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Loehr, Robert	Robinson, Dr. Edward Ph.D.	Video Recording
		01:09:11	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

15 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:03:07	General Case Activities
00:03:30	Witness Direct Examination	Loehr, Robert	Sulcer, Betty	In Person
00:30:16	Witness Direct Examination	Schultz, Matthew	Leung, Kristy	Video Recording
00:55:27	Break
01:07:24	General Case Activities
01:09:04	Witness Direct Examination	Schultz, Matthew	Leung, Kristy	Video Recording
01:53:36	Break
02:12:09	Witness Direct Examination	Schultz, Matthew	Leung, Kristy	Video Recording
02:52:24	Break
03:01:39	Witness Direct Examination	Schultz, Matthew	Leung, Kristy	Video Recording
03:18:39	Witness Cross Examination	Tepikian, Bruce	Leung, Kristy	Video Recording
04:01:32	Break
04:09:06	Witness Cross Examination	Tepikian, Bruce	Leung, Kristy	Video Recording
04:21:00	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Schultz, Matthew	Leung, Kristy	Video Recording
04:32:09	End of Session

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

4 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Loehr, Robert	Robinson, Dr. Edward Ph.D.	Video Conference
00:07:24	General Case Activities
00:11:46	Witness Direct Examination	Loehr, Robert	Robinson, Dr. Edward Ph.D.	Video Recording
01:16:34	End of Session

APR

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

16 Chapters

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

7 Chapters

APR

AM Session

Closings

8 Chapters

PM Session

Closings

8 Chapters

PM Session

Other

2 Chapters

PM Session

Other

2 Chapters

APR

AM Session

Verdict

4 Chapters

APR

Recording Disclaimer: This proceeding was recorded in full.

Sulcer v. R.J. Reynolds

Summary

Outcome

Sessions

Suggest a Trial

CVN Essentials

Video Library

	Description	Attorney
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:00:19	Opening Statement	Boggs, William
00:22:45	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:02	Opening Statement	Baringer, Randal
00:52:24	Break
01:20:54	General Case Activities
01:24:15	Witness Direct Examination	Schultz, Matthew	Krugman, Dr. Dean	In Person
02:08:57	Break
02:31:40	General Case Activities
02:32:43	Witness Direct Examination	Schultz, Matthew	Krugman, Dr. Dean	In Person
03:09:08	General Case Activities
03:09:28	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:01:48	Witness Cross Examination	Boggs, William	Burns, Dr. David , M.D.	In Person
00:43:27	Break
01:03:02	Witness Cross Examination	Boggs, William	Burns, Dr. David , M.D.	In Person
01:25:20	General Case Activities
01:30:37	General Case Activities		Burns, Dr. David , M.D.	In Person
01:33:18	Break
01:43:49	General Case Activities
01:45:39	Witness Direct Examination	Loehr, Robert	Robinson, Dr. Edward Ph.D.	Video Recording
01:53:43	Break
02:03:42	Witness Direct Examination	Loehr, Robert	Robinson, Dr. Edward Ph.D.	Video Recording
02:55:05	Break
03:04:17	Witness Direct Examination	Loehr, Robert	Robinson, Dr. Edward Ph.D.	Video Recording
03:50:07	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:01:14	Witness Direct Examination	Schultz, Matthew	Saba, Alice	In Person
00:42:35	Witness Cross Examination	Schultz, Matthew	Saba, Alice	In Person
00:58:31	Break
01:24:17	Witness Direct Examination	Loehr, Robert	Ruddy, Carolyn	In Person
01:32:32	Witness Cross Examination	Boggs, William	Ruddy, Carolyn	In Person
01:34:39	Witness Direct Examination	Schultz, Matthew	Sulcer, Stanley	Transcript Reading
01:45:15	Witness Direct Examination	Schultz, Matthew	Sulcer, Billy	Transcript Reading
01:57:04	Witness Direct Examination	Schultz, Matthew	Saba, Michael	Transcript Reading
02:29:40	Break
02:53:09	Witness Direct Examination	Schultz, Matthew	Sulcer, Bud	Transcript Reading
03:08:39	Witness Direct Examination	Schultz, Matthew	Adams, P.W.	Transcript Reading
03:17:58	Witness Direct Examination	Schultz, Matthew	Lank, Leo "Bud"	Transcript Reading
03:33:38	Witness Direct Examination	Schultz, Matthew	Livingston, Charles	Transcript Reading
03:43:21	Witness Direct Examination	Schultz, Matthew	Terry, Bobby	Transcript Reading
04:00:33	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:00:29	Witness Direct Examination	Loehr, Robert	Mitchell, Daniel	Transcript Reading
00:07:30	Witness Direct Examination	Loehr, Robert	Vunovich, Duke	Transcript Reading
00:37:55	Witness Direct Examination	Loehr, Robert	Sulcer-Brabham, Sonya	Transcript Reading
00:48:10	Witness Direct Examination	Loehr, Robert	Vunovich, Thelma	Transcript Reading
01:03:00	Witness Direct Examination	Loehr, Robert	Saba, Daniel	Transcript Reading
01:13:50	End of Session

	Description	Attorney
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:00:20	Closing Statement	Boggs, William
00:45:23	Break
01:03:30	Closing Statement	Boggs, William
01:43:05	Closing Statement	Loehr, Robert
02:00:37	Break
02:09:28	General Case Activities
02:40:26	End of Session

			Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
		00:00:00	General Case Activities
		00:03:56	Reading of the Verdict
		00:06:58	General Case Activities
		00:08:35	End of Session