In a victory for the tobacco industry, a South Florida appeals court Wednesday reversed a multimillion-dollar verdict in the death of a woman who smoked two packs of cigarettes a day for decades.
The 4th District Court of Appeal ruled that a statute of limitations barred a lawsuit filed in 2007 against Philip Morris USA by the husband of Shirley Barbanell.
The case is one of hundreds moving through the state’s court system after a 2006 Florida Supreme Court decision established critical findings about the health dangers of smoking and misrepresentation by cigarette makers.
The appeals court said that a statute of limitations bars cases in which people knew before May 1990 they had been injured by smoking.
“The evidence demonstrated that the decedent (Barbanell) began experiencing shortness of breath as early as 1965,” the opinion said. “In 1968, she tired easily doing simple tasks. These problems continued to grow worse as time progressed. The decedent talked about quitting smoking cigarettes in 1982 due to difficulty breathing and climbing stairs. She continued having trouble climbing stairs, prompting her to go to the doctor in 1985 or 1986.”
A Broward County jury set damages in the case at $5,339,198, but found that Barbanell was 63.5 percent at fault and Philip Morris was 36.5 percent at fault. If upheld, the ruling would have forced the tobacco company to pay nearly $2 million.
Murray Garnick, a senior vice president of the parent company of Philip Morris USA, said the ruling on the statute-of-limitations issue could block other cases that stem from the 2006 Supreme Court ruling — cases known collectively as the “Engle progeny” cases.
“This is an important decision that could impact many of the claims being brought in the Engle cases in Florida,” Garnick said in a news release.
