(l-r) Judges Edward LaRose, Anthony Black, and Craig Willanti. (Courtesy photos) Florida Appellate Court Vacates $8.5M in Punitive Damages Over Witness Error
"We cannot, therefore, conclude that there is no reasonable possibility that the conspiracy to fraudulently conceal claim contributed to the verdict on punitive damages," the state appellate court judges ruled.
April 30, 2024 at 02:27 PM
4 minute read
What You Need to Know
- An appellate court vacated a nearly $8.5 million punitive damages award.
- The appellate court pointed to the Florida Supreme Court ruling in Prentice v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco.
- Testimony by multiple witnesses did not demonstrate that the decedent relied upon statements from tobacco coconspirators when he chose to begin smoking or at any point during his decades of smoking.
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.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Hit Song Ignites Multimillion-Dollar Legal Battle in South Florida
Beef Between Two South Florida Law Firms Deepens With Suit Over Defamation
2 minute read
Florida Supreme Court Clarifies Qualifications for Court-Appointed Arbitrators
3 minute readTrending Stories
- 1How My Postpartum Depression Led to Launching My Firm’s Parental Leave Coaching Program
- 2A&O Shearman's Former U.S. Co-Chair to Leave Partnership
- 3Hit Song Ignites Multimillion-Dollar Legal Battle in South Florida
- 4Miami’s Arbitration Week Aims To Cement City’s Status as Dispute Destination
- 5GE Agrees to $362.5M Deal to End Shareholder Claims Over Power, Insurance Risks
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
