Plaintiffs Attorneys Win $17M for Smoker's Widow
Eric Rosen, Alex Alvarez, Kimberly Wald and Todd McPharlin were part of a team to win $11.6 million in punitive damages against Philip Morris.
March 04, 2015 at 06:00 AM
4 minute read
Details: Theodore McKeever smoked Philip Morris cigarettes for 63 years beginning in 1943 at 13. The Davie man was diagnosed with emphysema and lung cancer. He died in 2013 about eight years after doctors detected a large mass in his left lung and removed the diseased section of lung. He never returned to work and received daily oxygen treatment to fight advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in his right lung. McKeever's health continued to deteriorate. In 2012, part of his colon was removed after his doctors found cancer. The next year, he fell at home and broke his hip, requiring another surgery.
Plaintiffs case: When his widow took up a survival claim against cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris USA, her attorneys argued the tobacco company knowingly pedaled a deadly product.
| Case: Vicki McKeever v. Philip Morris USA Inc. Case no: 0-037561(19) Description: Liability, fraud by concealment, negligence and conspiracy to commit fraud Filing date: June 29, 2007 Judge: Broward Circuit Judge Jack Tuter Plaintiffs attorneys: Todd McPharlin, Robert Kelley, Eric Rosen and Kimberly Wald, Kelley/Uustal, Fort Lauderdale; and Alex Alvarez, Phillip Holden, Michael Alvarez and Lisa Cabrera, Alvarez Law Firm, Coral Gables Defense attorney: Jonathan Stern, Arnold & Porter, Washington, and Hildy Sastre, Shook, Hardy & Bacon, Miami Trial dates: Feb. 9-20, 2015 Verdict amount: $17.4 million |
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