Appeals Court Reviewing Novel Tobacco Lawsuit Ruling
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is reviewing an innovative, if controversial, decision by a Brooklyn federal judge in a case centered on punitive damages for concealing the health risks of smoking, the New York Times reported Sept. 14.
In a 2002 class-action lawsuit, U.S. District Court Judge Jack Weinstein called for a single national trial that "would be the end of punitive damages in Tobaccoland." Such a case could result in the largest verdict ever against the tobacco industry.
In issuing the ruling, Weinstein said, "the time for bringing a close to tobacco litigation is nigh."
Catherine Sharkey, a Columbia University law professor who specializes in punitive-damages issues, said Weinstein's proposal "is a very novel idea that is untested in the law."
The lawsuit stemmed from a 1999 case filed by lung-cancer victims seeking compensation from tobacco companies. In 2000, on the suggestion of Weinstein, the lawsuit was restructured to address tobacco issues on a broader scale.
Under Weinstein's plan, individual smokers and their survivors would still be allowed to sue for compensation for lost income or healthcare costs. However, smokers diagnosed with a smoking-related disease between 1993 and the start of the trial would be unable to file claims for punitive damages.
Tobacco companies are against the idea, saying it goes against the case-by-case justice system.
"He is a very bright man who has a very clearly stated agenda that is inconsistent with what appellate courts and courts across the country have said is required by the Constitution," said Theodore Grossman, the lawyer who argued the appeal for the tobacco industry.
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