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U.S. SUPREME COURT REJECTS APPEAL OF BIG TOBACCO IN AVERA & SMITH’S HISTORIC $17.5 MILLION VERDICT

GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA—On March 26, 2012, the United States Supreme Court sent a resounding message to individuals who are pursuing lawsuits against big tobacco in Florida when they denied review of five tobacco cases where the juries returned verdicts totaling nearly $100 million. One of these cases, for which there can be no further appeal, was the result of the efforts of the attorneys at Avera & Smith, LLP in Gainesville, Florida. On behalf of their client, Avera & Smith filed suit against R.J. Reynolds and other manufacturers for the smoking-related death of their client’s husband at only 57 years old.

In March of 2010, the two-week trial took place in Gainesville. In the end, the jury found for the plaintiff and awarded a total of $17,500,000 to Avera & Smith’s client for the wrongful death of her husband. Rod Smith and Mark Avera established that the client’s husband was an addicted smoker who began the habit while in his early teens, tried and failed numerous times to quit, and ultimately died from lung cancer in 1995. Mr. Smith and Mr. Avera also presented unquestionable and damning evidence showing the extent of the tobacco companies’ conspiracy with regard to their knowledge of the dangers of their products, and their systematic misrepresentations to the public.

The jury’s verdict in this case was the first of its kind in North Florida following the Supreme Court’s 2006 Ruling against tobacco companies in the Engle class action. Despite the Engle Decision that found cigarettes to be “unreasonably dangerous” and to cause numerous illnesses, in subsequent trials, tobacco company attorneys continue to argue that smokers are responsible for their own actions and health and that cigarette makers should bear no penalty for their illnesses or death. With their verdict, the jury resoundingly showed that they did not agree.

R.J. Reynolds appealed the verdict, and several others, in Florida’s various District Court’s of Appeal, as well as in Florida’s Supreme Court. After suffering losses in each, the defendant tobacco companies then took their appeal to the highest court in the land, the U.S. Supreme Court. In denying review of big tobacco’s appeals in five cases, the U.S. Supreme Court has finally provided an ending to all of the plaintiffs who have been waiting for many years to recover their verdicts – including Avera & Smith’s verdict awarded over two years ago.

The Client chose Avera & Smith, LLP in large part because of Attorney Rod Smith’s experience as a State Attorney when he successfully prosecuted serial murderer Danny Rollins. In the client’s own words, “I just figured if he could put away that guy he could stand up to big tobacco as hard as that is to do. And I was right!”

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Gainesville, FL 32608
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