Tobacco.org

BAT receives late lift after legal victory by US peer 

LATE-SESSION buying supported British American Tobacco after a jury in the United States found in favour of RJ Reynolds in a lawsuit on a smoking-related death.

Phillip Kimball had been seeking $10 million in damages, claiming that his wife, who died five years ago, had developed lung cancer as a result of smoking Reynold's Winston and Winston Lights brands.

A jury in a US district court of Seattle found in favour of the defendant, Reynolds American, where BAT owns 42 per cent after the merger of its Brown & Williamson business with RJ Reynolds three years ago. BAT closed 26p higher at £13.66.

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Reynolds American wins smoking suit  

A federal jury in Seattle handed Reynolds American Inc. a win Monday, finding in favor of the tobacco titan in a smoking liability lawsuit.

In Kimball v. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, plaintiffs had sought more than $10 million in damages from Reynolds (RAI) on behalf of the estate of Carla Kimball, a Winston smoker who died in 2001, more than a decade after kicking the habit.

"We applaud the jury's unanimous verdict," says Jeff Raborn, the company's senior counsel, in an announcement of the outcome. "The jury evaluated the evidence, applied common sense, and made the correct decision after just ninety minutes of deliberations." . . .

Edward Sweda, senior attorney with the Tobacco Products Liability Project, said he was disappointed with the defense verdict.

But, he added, "since the mid-1990s, approximately one-third of individual smoking-and-health lawsuits against tobacco companies have resulted in jury verdicts for the plaintiffs. We look forward to future trials across the country designed to hold the tobacco companies accountable for their long, sordid history of reprehensible misconduct."

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2:03-cv-00664-JLR Kimball, et al v. RJ Reynolds Tobacco 

2:03-cv-00664-JLR Kimball, et al v. RJ Reynolds Tobacco

James L. Robart, presiding

Date filed: 03/14/2003 Date of last filing: 05/15/2006

Case Summary

Office: Seattle      Filed: 03/14/2003

Jury Demand: Defendant      Demand: $0

Nature of Suit: 362      Cause: 28:1441 Petition for Removal- Product Liability

Jurisdiction: Diversity      Disposition:

County: Whatcom Terminated:

Origin: 2     Reopened:

Lead Case: None

Related Case: None Other Court Case: 03-2-00035-0[Whatcom Cty Sup Ct]

Def Custody Status:

Flag: JURYDEMAND

Plaintiff Philip R Kimball  represented by  Jon Peter Ferguson  

Phone: 206-855-0838

Fax: 206-855-0840

Email: jon@jonfergusonlaw.com

Plaintiff Carla M Kimball Estate of  represented by  Jon Peter Ferguson  

Phone: 206-855-0838

Fax: 206-855-0840

Email: jon@jonfergusonlaw.com

Defendant RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co  represented by  Mark A Belasic  

Phone: 216-586-1043

Email: mabelasic@jonesday.com

Defendant RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co  represented by  Sean Patrick Costello  

Phone: 404-581-8327

Email: scostello@jonesday.com

Defendant RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co  represented by  Bradley S. Keller  

Phone: 206-622-2000

Fax: FAX 622-2522

Email: bkeller@byrneskeller.com

Defendant RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co  represented by  Dennis Leo Murphy  

Phone: 216-586-3939

Email: dlmurphy@jonesday.com

Defendant RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co  represented by  William Harrison Walsh  

Phone: 206-622-2000

Fax: FAX 622-2522

Email: wwalsh@byrneskeller.com

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• Kimball Backgrounder 

Plaintiff Philip Kimball filed this lawsuit on January 7, 2003 in the Watcom County Superior Court for the State of Washington. R.J. Reynolds removed the case to the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington on March 14, 2003.   Mr. Kimball is the spouse of the late Carla Kimball.  Mrs. Kimball smoked cigarettes from the 1960s until she quit smoking in 1990.  During the time that she smoked, Mrs. Kimball smoked Winston and Winston Lights 100’s, which are manufactured by R.J. Reynolds.  Mrs. Kimball was diagnosed with cancer in 2000 and died on March 12, 2001 at the age of 54. . . .

R.J. Reynolds contends that the plaintiff’s remaining claims for negligence and product liability fail for several reasons.  First, they are preempted in whole or in part by the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act.  Second, there is substantial evidence that Mrs. Kimball was long aware of the potential health risks of smoking, and in choosing to begin and continue smoking, Mrs. Kimball voluntarily assumed those risks.  Evidence will also be presented that the potential health risks of smoking have been common knowledge in the communities in which Mrs. Kimball lived since long before she chose to smoke.  Third, the plaintiff has no evidence that, at any time during the time that Mrs. Kimball smoked, there was a feasible, safer, alternative cigarette design that Mrs. Kimball would have used and that would have prevented her cancer.  Fourth, evidence will be presented that Mrs. Kimball could and, in fact, did quit smoking approximately ten years prior to being diagnosed with cancer.   The plaintiff’s claims also require that he prove that Mrs. Kimball had lung cancer, and that her lung cancer and death were caused by smoking R.J. Reynolds’ cigarettes.  R.J. Reynolds disputes whether the plaintiff will be able to prove these elements of his case.  In fact, the evidence will show that even one of Mrs. Kimball’s own doctors questioned whether her cancer was caused by smoking . . .

 On February 25, 2005, Judge Robart granted R.J. Reynolds’ motion in part and denied it in part.  Judge Robart dismissed the plaintiff’s fraud and civil conspiracy claims, finding that there was no evidence to support such claims.  He allowed the plaintiff’s negligence and product liability claims to proceed to trial. 

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• R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company Wins Unanimous Jury Verdict In Individual Smoking and Health Lawsuit 

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company is pleased with the complete defense verdict handed down by a jury in Seattle, Wash., in the individual smoking and health lawsuit, Kimball v. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. Phillip Kimball filed the suit as the estate administrator of his late wife, Carla Kimball, who died in 2001, 11 years after she had quit smoking.   “We applaud the jury’s unanimous verdict,” says Jeff Raborn, senior counsel for R.J. Reynolds. “The jury evaluated the evidence, applied common sense, and made the correct decision after just ninety minutes of deliberations.”   Phillip Kimball asked the jury to award more than $10 million in damages, claiming his wife developed lung cancer and died as a result of smoking Winston and Winston Lights 100s cigarettes manufactured by R.J. Reynolds.

“The plaintiff was well aware of the risks of smoking,” Raborn says. “In fact, the jury found that Mrs. Kimball was aware of the risks of smoking, and she knowingly assumed those risks. We obviously agree with this decision.”

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• RJ Reynolds wins jury verdict in smoking suit 

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. said on Tuesday that a jury in U.S. court in Seattle found in its favor in a lawsuit brought by the husband of a deceased former smoker.

Phillip Kimball had filed the suit as the estate administrator of his late wife, Carla Kimball, who died in 2001, 11 years after she had quit smoking, the company said. . . .

"The plaintiff was well aware of the risks of smoking," Jeff Raborn, senior counsel for R.J. Reynolds, said in a statement. "In fact, the jury found that Mrs. Kimball was aware of the risks of smoking, and she knowingly assumed those risks. We obviously agree with this decision."

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