Date: 11-19-2010

Case Style: Dianne Webb v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

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Judge:

Court: Circuit Court, Levy County, Florida

Plaintiff's Attorney: James W. Gustafson Jr., Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley, Tallahassee, Florida

Defendant's Attorney: Harold Gordon, Jones Day, New York, New York

Description: Dianne Webb sued R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. on a products liability theory for the wrongful death of her father claiming that the cigarettes manufactured and sold by Defendant were defective and unreasonably dangerous. She claimed her father's 1996 death was caused by a 60-year smoking addiction fed by company manipulation and deception.

James Kayce Horner started smoking when he was 17 years old in 1934 before warnings appeared on cigarette packs. He smoked for more than 60 years and died from lung cancer at age 78 in 1996.

Webb alleged that R.J. Reynolds was negligent, that it manufactured a defective product, and that it concealed the truth about its products and engaged in a conspiracy to conceal the truth.

Defendant denied wrongdoing. It asserted that nobody forced James Horner to smoke. Nobody tricked him. Nobody held a gun to his head and he received thousands upon thousands of warnings about the health risks of smoking," Gordon said.

Outcome: Plaintiff's verdict for $80 million including $8 million in compensatory damages and $72 million in punitive damages.

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Defendant's Experts:

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