R.J. Reynolds wins complete defense verdict in Farchione wrongful death lawsuit

Client(s) R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company

Following four weeks of trial, a jury in state court in Boston, Massachusetts returned a complete defense verdict in favor of Jones Day clients, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and Stop & Shop, in a wrongful death case. The plaintiff asserted that Reynolds' cigarettes were defectively designed, negligently marketed and distributed, and that Reynolds failed to adequately warn the decedent about the dangers of smoking cigarettes before July 1, 1969, and conspired with other tobacco manufacturers to conceal the health risks and addictive nature of cigarettes. The plaintiff also asserted allegations of willful and wanton, and grossly negligent, conduct which, if proven, would potentially make punitive damages available to the plaintiff. The decedent began smoking when he was nine years old and died at age 71 from lung cancer. He left three children, all of whom sought damages on behalf of the estate, and asserted individual claims, for compensatory and punitive damages. After three days of deliberations, the jury returned a complete defense verdict for R.J. Reynolds and Stop & Shop, rejecting each cause of action. This is the seventh complete defense verdict in a smoking and health trial against R.J. Reynolds in Massachusetts.

Eleanor Farchione v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, et al., No. 1784-cv-01675 (Super. Ct. Suffolk Cty., Mass.)