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R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company wins Hall: Individual Smoker Suit in Florida
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Dec. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A Florida jury today
returned a verdict in favor of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in an individual
smoking and health case. The jury concluded that Reynolds Tobacco and one other
defendant tobacco-company defendants were not responsible for the illness of
Emmett A. Hall, a smoker who claimed that he developed lung cancer and chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) from smoking the companies' products.
"This verdict shows once again that jurors who have seen the evidence generally
use their common sense and conclude that smokers have long been aware of the
well-known risks of smoking, and that people who choose to smoke in the face of
these known risks should not be financially rewarded," said Stephanie E. Parker,
Reynolds Tobacco's lead attorney in the case.
Daniel W. Donahue, senior vice president and deputy general counsel for Reynolds
Tobacco, added: "Today's verdict reconfirms the strength of our defenses in
individual lawsuits. The jury evaluated all of the evidence in this case and
concluded that Mr. Hall's claims lacked merit."
The jury in the Circuit Court of the 13th Judicial Circuit in Hillsborough
County, Fla., agreed with Reynolds Tobacco and Brown & Williamson Tobacco
Corporation that there was ample evidence that Hall had long been aware of the
potential health risks of smoking, and that he, nevertheless, chose to smoke.
The tobacco companies also showed that Hall could not conclusively show that
smoking caused his lung cancer or COPD.
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJRT) is a wholly owned subsidiary of R.J.
Reynolds Tobacco Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:RJR). R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company is the
second-largest tobacco company in the United States, manufacturing about one of
every four cigarettes sold in the United States. Reynolds Tobacco's product line
includes four of the nation's 10 best-selling cigarette brands: Camel, Winston,
Salem and Doral. For more information about RJRT, visit the company's web site
at http://www.rjrt.com/ .
DATASOURCE: R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
CONTACT: Ellen Matthews of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company,
+1-336-741-6694, or cell, +1-336-829-9189
Web site: http://www.rjrt.com/