Products Liability Law Reporter

Robert Hoffman purchased and smoked cigarettes manufactured by Philip Morris USA Inc. and others. He developed lung cancer and died of his disease.

His estate brought an Engle progeny suit against Philip Morris, alleging strict liability, fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, and negligence. The plaintiff asserted that Hoffman was addicted to cigarettes containing nicotine and that his addiction was the legal cause of his lung cancer and death.

The jury awarded $5 million, finding that Hoffman was 40% at fault. The defense has appealed.

Citation: Hoffman v. Philip Morris USA Inc., No. 17-5939 CA 05 (Fla. Cir. Ct. Miami-Dade Cnty. Apr. 24, 2023).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ members Philip Gerson and Nicholas Gerson, both of Miami.

Comment: In Coates v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 2023 WL 4004339 (Fla. June 15, 2023), the Florida Supreme Court held that a party need not prevail in a proceeding to be entitled to fees under the state’s offer of judgment statute, Fla. Stat. §768.79. The court found that it was not reasonable to hold that the state legislature created a prevailing party requirement when the statute’s text allows for awards to litigants who do not prevail. Rather, the court said that the offer of judgment statute operates to penalize a party that refuses to accept a good faith reasonable settlement proposal. The court also rejected R.J. Reynolds’s argument that its interpretation will result in a flood of frivolous appeals. A judge may award only reasonable fees, the court said. Consequently, the court provisionally granted the motion for reasonable appellate attorney fees for the plaintiff, who obtained a judgment that was affirmed in part. AAJ member Jonathan A. Martin, Tallahassee, Fla.; and AAJ member John S. Mills, Jacksonville, Fla., represented the plaintiff.