TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - A woman who sued RJ Reynolds over the smoking-related death of her sister can recover legal fees for an appeal that ultimately cost her a $16 million punitive-damages award because her compensatory damages were still higher than a settlement offer RJR had rejected.
In a recent 5-1 decision, the Florida Supreme Court struck down a $16 million punitive damages award as excessive. Drawing attention from around the country, the recent opinion.
The sister of a smoker who died of lung cancer asked the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday to reinstate a $16 million punitive damages award against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., arguing that the justices should look to the injury death rather than the low compensatory damages award when calculating whether the award is excessive.