The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals today, in Brown et al. v. RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co., et al., vacated an August 28, 2008 order by U.S. District Court Judge Howard Schlesinger which had totally eliminated the preclusive effect of the Engle jury’s Phase I findings. Now, with that roadblock having been cleared, federal court plaintiffs […]
On June 29, 2010, the Public Health Advocacy Institute conducted a webinar on the tobacco industry’s use of corporate social responsibility rhetoric and tactics to try to improve its image, while still maintaining an emphasis on personal responsibility. Tobacco companies use corporate social responsibility rhetoric and tactics to normalize their image and stave off further
Media contacts: Valerie Wencis, Massachusetts General Hospital, 617.726.0274, vwencis@partners.org Todd Datz, Harvard School of Public Health, 617.998.8819, tdatz@hsph.harvard.edu Barry Wanger, Northeastern University School of Law, 617.965.6469, barry@wangerassociates.com Researchers examine risks and consequences of cigarette smoking to all inhabitants of multiple-unit housing; challenge status quo BOSTON– In an effort to protect children from harmful tobacco smoke exposure, health
By Edward L. Sweda, Jr., Senior Attorney- PHAI DEATH PENALTY On May 20, 2010, the Commonwealth of Virginia executed Darick Demorris Walker, who had been convicted of murdering Stanley Beale in 1996 and Clarence Elwood Threat in 1997. Also on May 20, 2010, the Altria Group, Inc. Annual Shareholders Meeting took place in Richmond, Virginia.
By Edward L. Sweda, Jr., Senior Attorney – PHAI NEW RULES REGARDING ADMITTANCE TO THE MEETING. The Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) Annual Shareholders Meeting took place in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on Friday morning, May 7, 2010. According to a March 22, 2010 “Dear Shareholder” letter from President and CEO Susan M. Ivey, those shareholders who
On May 20, 2010 after a three-week trial, a six-person Fort Lauderdale, Florida jury returned a verdict in favor of Connie Buonomo, the widow of Matthew Buonomo, who died from chronic obstructive lung disease in 2008 at the age of 80.Mr. Buonomo had started smoking as a teenager. The defendant, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. was
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Edward L. Sweda or Mark Gottlieb (617) 373-8462 or (617) 373-2026 Nearly fourteen years after the lawsuit was originally filed, the Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit on Friday affirmed a trial court judgment in Scott v. American Tobacco Co., et al., that the major American tobacco companies must fund
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Edward L. Sweda or Mark Gottlieb (617) 373-8462 or (617) 373-2026 APRIL 26, 2010 A Fort Lauderdale, Florida state court jury on Monday awarded $15 million in compensatory damages to the family of Margot Putney, a longtime smoker who died of lung cancer in 1995. The jury found the defendants’ negligence
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 22, 2010 Contact: Edward L. Sweda or Mark Gottlieb (617) 373-2026 or (617) 373-8462 Florida juries and a Court of Appeal have help make March and April of 2010 two months during which tobacco companies are being held accountable for their massive, reprehensible misconduct that has wreaked havoc on the lives
PHAI Case Study on NY State Reduced Ignition Propensity Cigarette Law (pdf) PHAI documented New York State’s enactment of the first reduced ignition propensity law for cigarettes. For decades, state and federal legislators have sought to change the manufacture of cigarettes in order to reduce the risk of fire, and the tobacco industry has sought
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