R.J. Reynolds secures victory in first "Engle Progeny" appeal
July 2010
On July 22, 2010, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued a watershed decision favorable to R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in the first appellate opinion in an "
Engle progeny" case (
Brown v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, No. 08-16158-CC (11th Cir.)). The Eleventh Circuit’s decision is binding in the more than 4,400
Engle progeny cases currently pending in federal court in Florida, and provides crucial appellate guidance for the similar number of cases pending in Florida state courts.
The thousands of
Engle progeny cases arise out of the Florida Supreme Court’s decision in
Engle v. Liggett Group, Inc., 945 So. 2d 1246 (Fla. 2006). In that case, the Florida Supreme Court decertified a class of Florida smokers but upheld certain findings from the classwide phase of the trial. The issue of how, if at all, the
Engle findings may be invoked by plaintiffs claiming to be members of the decertified
Engle class is presented in every
Engle progeny case. Even though the
Engle findings do not identify any specific wrongful conduct by anyone and cannot be connected to any individual plaintiff’s alleged injuries, the
Engle progeny plaintiffs have argued that those findings preclusively establish certain essential elements of their individual claims against the tobacco company defendants. Reynolds and the other tobacco companies have pointed out that according to the
Engle findings such preclusive effect violates the
Engle decision, Florida preclusion law, and federal and state constitutional due process guarantees.
Applying Florida law, the Eleventh Circuit held: "The bottom line, then, is that the Phase I approved findings may be given effect to the full extent of, but no farther than, what the jury found." Under the logic of this opinion, every judgment against Reynolds in Florida state courts would have to be reversed.
The R.J. Reynolds appellate team was led by partner Stephanie Parker (of the Atlanta Office) and included partners Don Ayer and Gregory Katsas (both of the Washington Office), Charles Morse (of the New York Office), and John Yarber and John Walker (both of the Atlanta Office).