Engle Trial Testimony
In 1994, the husband-and-wife legal team of Stanley and Susan Rosenblatt filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of “all Florida citizens and residents, and their survivors, who have suffered, presently suffer or have died from diseases and medical conditions caused by their addiction to cigarettes that contain nicotine.”
The trial on behalf of the class was the first, and only time a class of smokers brought their injury claims to trial against the tobacco industry
Verdict for the plaintiff and punitive damages: ย The Engle trial, organized into three phases, commenced in October 1998 and continued until May 2000. ย In 1999, the jury found the cigarette companies liable and awarded the class punitive damages of $145 billion.ย In 2000 the individual claims of three plaintiffs were tried, and each was awarded millions of dollars in compensatory damages for their injuries.
Appellate Proceedings: In 2006, the Florida Supreme court decertified the Engle class, although it preserved the affirmative findings of the jury on disease causation and nicotine addiction, among other rulings, including the jury finding that the industry formed a conspiracy and committed fraud to mislead the American public about the health effects of smoking and the addictive nature of nicotine. Class members were allowed to file their individual lawsuits against the cigarette companies and utilize the findings of the Engle jury.ย
Thousands of Engle progeny cases were filed, and they continue to be litigated until today.
These excerpts present a small portion of the testimony the Engle jury was exposed to in the longest civil trial in American history.
1997 Videotaped Deposition of Andrew J. Schindler, President, and CEO of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
Andrew Schindler, President, and CEO of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. He stated that he doesnโt know if cigarette smoking causes disease or not but admits that smokingย isย a risk factor for diseases (lung cancer, emphysema, etc.).
1997 Videotaped Deposition of Dr. Alexander Spears, President and CEO of Lorillard Tobacco Company
Dr. Alexander Spears was the Lorillard Tobacco Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer. Spears joined Lorillard in 1959 and worked his way up the research ranks to lead the nation’s fourth-largest cigarette maker.
In his Engle testimony, when asked if statements made by the tobacco industry confuse the public, he said, “A tremendous amount of information is being supplied to the consumer, all of which is negative with respect to smoking from a public health point of view. The other statement being made is we don’t believe that there is scientific proof that these diseases that have multiple etiologies, obviously. The mechanisms of diseases are not known. There are some critical missing elements in the truth โ It’s not there. Those are the statements that I have basically made. I don’t think that’s to suggest that the consumer is not aware of the tremendous amount of publicity that has been portrayed basically by our government and media.” He did not believe nicotine was addictive and stated that secondhand tobacco smoke was not harmful.
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1997 Videotaped Deposition of Ronald Fulford, Chairman, and CEO of Liggett and Myers, Inc.
Mr. Fulford, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Liggett Group, Inc. He formerly held leadership positions with several non-tobacco companies and was Executive Chairman of Imperial Tobacco Company. He explains the relationship between Liggett Group, Inc. and Brooke Group, Limited. Breaking with the industry position, he said he believes cigarettes are addictive and cause disease. He commented on the cigarette advertisements that Liggett Group used to employ and offered his views about whether lower-tar cigarettes are safer.