An appellate court in Florida relied on a state Supreme Court ruling to vacate, in favor of an Am Law 100 client, a nearly $8.5 million punitive damages award that a jury initially returned in an Engle progeny action to the estate of a deceased smoker.

Scott Schlesinger of the Schlesinger Law Firm is a tobacco litigation expert who is not involved in the case in which the defendant, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. appealed to the Second District Court of Appeal a jury verdict in favor of the plaintiff, the estate of Salvatore Giambalvo Jr.

Scott Schlesinger of Schlesinger Law Offices. (Credit: J. Albert Diaz/ALM) Scott Schlesinger of Schlesinger Law Offices. (Credit: J. Albert Diaz/ALM)