Harris v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.
Harris v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.
Opinion of the Court
*1320This is an "Engle -progeny"
I. Background
On September 12, 2013, Plaintiff filed an Amended Complaint against the Defendants pursuant to Engle III . (Doc. 5). Plaintiff alleged that the Defendants' cigarettes were responsible for Mr. Harris's coronary heart disease (CHD) and oral cavity cancer, as well as the lung cancer that ultimately claimed his life. Plaintiff sought wrongful death and survival damages under theories of negligence, strict liability, fraudulent concealment, and conspiracy to conceal.
Following a trial, the jury returned a verdict for Plaintiff on the claims of negligence and strict liability, but not on the claims of fraudulent concealment and conspiracy to conceal. (Doc. 143). In reaching its verdict, the jury determined as a threshold matter that Mr. Harris was addicted to cigarettes containing nicotine. (Id. at 1). The parties stipulated mat Mr. Harris's CHD manifested on or before the Engle class cutoff date of November 21, 1996 (see Doc. 121 at 35 ¶ 2; Doc. 163 at 180), but the jury determined that Mr. Harris's addiction to cigarettes was not the cause of his heart disease (Doc. 143 at 2 ¶ 3). However, the jury found that while Mr. Harris's oral cavity cancer had not manifested by the cutoff date (id. at 2 ¶ 2), Mr. Harris's addiction to cigarettes was the cause of the oral cavity cancer (id. at 2 ¶ 3). The jury further found that Mr. Harris's addiction to cigarettes was the cause of the lung cancer that resulted in his death. (Id. at 4 ¶ 6).
In accordance with the Court's instructions, the jury awarded two sets of compensatory *1321damages: one for the diseases that did not cause Mr. Harris's death (i.e., oral cavity cancer )
Two weeks after the trial ended, Defendants filed a "Motion for Judgment in Accordance with the Jury's Verdict." (Doc. 157). Defendants argued that based on the verdict, Mr. Harris was not an Engle class member because of the lack of unity between the disease that met the cutoff date requirement and the disease that was caused by the addiction to cigarettes. As noted above, the jury found that the tobacco-related illness that manifested by the Engle class cutoff date (CHD) was not caused by Mr. Harris's addiction to cigarettes, but that the tobacco-related illness that was caused by Mr. Harris's addiction to cigarettes (oral cavity cancer ) had not manifested by the Engle class cutoff date. The Court determined that Mr. Harris was an Engle class member nonetheless. (Doc. 174). The Court explained that in deciding class membership, it was bound by Engle III's treatment of class representative Angie Delia Vecchia. Id. at 4-5. In Engle III , the Florida Supreme Court held that Delia Vecchia was properly included as a class member "despite a mismatch between the disease mat timely manifested (COPD) and the disease for which legal cause was found (lung cancer )." Id. at 6 (citing Engle III , 945 So. 2d at 1256, 1276 ). This Court reasoned that because Plaintiff stood in Delia Vecchia's shoes, id. at 5, Mr. Harris also qualified as an Engle class member even if the tobacco-related disease that manifested by the Engle cutoff date was different from the tobacco-related disease for which the jury found causation, id. at 10. Thus, the Court denied Defendants' motion.
Thereafter, the Court entered judgment in favor of Plaintiff and against Defendants in the amount of $ 1,726,650.00. (Doc. 175). The original judgment reflected the total amount of damages found by the jury but did not reflect the degree of Mr. Harris's comparative fault. Shortly thereafter, Defendants filed the two instant motions.
II. Defendants' Renewed Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law on All Claims and Alternative Motion for New Trial
A. Standard
The standard for granting a renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law under Fed. R. Civ. P. 50(b) is the same as the standard for granting the pre-submission motion under Rule 50(a).
*1322Chaney v. City of Orlando, Fla. ,
A court may grant a new trial "for any reason for which a new trial has heretofore been granted in an action at law in federal court." Fed. R. Civ. P. 59(a)(1)(A).
A losing party may ... move for a new trial under Rule 59 on the grounds that "the verdict is against the weight of the evidence, that the damages are excessive, or that, for other reasons, the trial was not fair ... and may raise questions of law arising out of alleged substantial errors in admission or rejection of evidence or instructions to the jury."
McGinnis v. Am. Home Mortg. Servicing, Inc. ,
B. Whether Mr. Harris Is a Member of the Engle Class
Defendants' first argument is that Mr. Harris was not a member of the Engle class because the tobacco-related disease that manifested by the Engle cutoff date (CHD) and the tobacco-related disease for which the jury found causation (oral cavity cancer ) were not one and the same. (Doc. 178 at 3-5). As recounted earlier, this is the same argument that Defendants raised in their Motion for Judgment in Accordance with the Jury's Verdict (Doc. 157), and which the Court denied in a written order (Doc. 174). The Court remains unmoved. For the reasons set forth in the Court's previous opinion, the Court finds that Mr. Harris satisfied the requirements for Engle class membership by showing that a tobacco-related disease (CHD) manifested by the Engle cutoff date and that his addiction to smoking cigarettes was the cause of another tobacco-related disease (oral cavity cancer ). (See Doc. 174). That is so because in Engle III the Florida Supreme Court held that class representative Angie Delia Vecchia was a class member despite a mismatch between the diseases that met the cutoff date requirement (COPD and hypertension ) and the disease that was caused by her addiction to cigarettes (lung cancer ). Engle III, 945 So. 2d at 1255-56, 1276.
*1323The Court briefly writes to address two further points. First, Defendants argue that the Court erred in relying on Engle III's treatment of Delia Vecchia because "the defendants never objected to ... Delia Vecchia as a proper member of the class." (Doc. 178 at 4) (quoting Engle III , 945 So. 2d at 1256 n.2 ). Thus, Defendants argue that Engle III's decision to count Delia Vecchia as a class member is not controlling because the issue was uncontested. But Defendants ignore that later in the opinion, notwithstanding Footnote 2, the Florida Supreme Court engaged the very question of whether Delia Vecchia was a class member, including with respect to the issue of the cutoff date. Id. at 1274-76. The Florida Supreme Court reversed a lower appellate court's decision that Delia Vecchia was not a class member. Id. at 1276. In doing so, the Florida Supreme Court held that Delia Vecchia was a class member because there was evidence that COPD and hypertension had manifested by the cutoff date, id. at 1276, even though those were not the diseases for which the jury found causation, id. at 1255-56. Contrary to Defendants' argument, both Florida courts and federal courts presiding over Engle -progeny cases have regarded Engle III 's decision about Delia Vecchia's class membership to be instructive, if not controlling. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Ciccone ,
Second, Defendants contend in their supplemental brief that Mr. Harris is not a class member under the Fourth District Court of Appeal's decision in Philip Morris USA, Inc. v. McCall ,
C. Whether Plaintiff Can Recover Both Wrongful Death and Survival Damages Based on Separate Injuries
Defendants' second argument is that the Court erred in determining that Plaintiff could recover damages under both Florida's Wrongful Death Act, §§ 768.16 - 768.27, Fla. Stat., as well as under Florida's survival statute, § 46.021, Fla. Stat. (Doc. 178 at 5-7). As noted earlier, the Court determined that Plaintiff could recover survival damages with respect to the diseases that did not cause Mr. Harris's death, i.e., oral cavity cancer, as well as wrongful death damages with respect to the diseases that did cause Mr. Harris's death, i.e., lung cancer.
Defendants recognize that the Court has already ruled Plaintiff may recover both survival damages and wrongful death damages, but they raise the argument to preserve it for appellate review. (Doc. 178 at 5 n.2). During trial, the Court had two dialogues with the parties about the issue. (Doc. 182-1; Plaintiffs Ex. A); (Doc. 182-2; Plaintiff's Ex. B). Both sides acknowledged at the time that there was no Florida case directly on point. (Doc. 182-1 at 7, 9-10; see also Doc. 116 at 2). After reviewing the case law, the Court orally ruled that Plaintiff could recover both types of damages where there were discrete injuries and one injury resulted in death but the others did not. (Doc. 182-2 at 3).
While it is a close question, the Court remains persuaded that where a tortfeasor's conduct causes multiple injuries, one of which results in death and at least one of which does not result in death, a plaintiff can recover wrongful death damages with respect to the fatal injury as well as survival damages with respect to the non-fatal injury. But the Court believes its decision warrants further explanation. In reaching this decision, the Court is informed not only by the parties' post-trial briefs, but also by the parties' bench briefs concerning the issue. (See Doc. 103; Doc. 116).
The Court begins with the relevant statutes. Florida's survival statute states: "No cause of action dies with the person. All causes of action survive and may be commenced, prosecuted, and defended in the name of the person prescribed by law." § 46.021, Fla. Stat. A survival action allows a survivor to stand in the decedent's shoes and recover compensation for the damages that accrued while the decedent was still alive, such as the decedent's pain and suffering, medical expenses, and lost earnings. Martin v. United Sec. Servs., Inc. ,
Florida's Wrongful Death Act creates a cause of action
[w]hen the death of a person is caused by the wrongful act, negligence, default, or breach of contract or warranty of any person, including those occurring on navigable waters, and the event would have entitled the person injured to maintain an action and recover damages if death had not ensued....
§ 768.19, Fla. Stat. In contrast to a survival claim, a wrongful death claim focuses on the losses suffered by the estate or the survivors - not the decedent - by allowing recovery for such things as the survivors'
*1325loss of support services, loss of consortium, the survivors' own pain and suffering, as well as medical bills or funeral costs borne by the survivors or the estate. § 768.21, Fla. Stat.; Martin,
At the center of this dispute is a sentence in § 768.20, Fla. Stat., which provides: "[w]hen a personal injury to the decedent results in death, no action for the personal injury shall survive, and any such action pending at the time of death shall abate." This sentence - which the Court refers to as the "abatement clause" - precludes a survival action for a personal injury that results in the decedent's death. "[W]hen death is the result of a personal injury, the law of Florida essentially substitutes a statutory wrongful death action for the personal injury action that would otherwise survive under section 46.021." Niemi v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. ,
"[T]he intent of the amended Wrongful Death Act is that 'a separate lawsuit for death-resulting personal injuries cannot be brought as a survival action under Section 46.021." Williams v. Bay Hosp., Inc. ,
*1326The parties do not disagree that under the abatement clause, a survivor cannot recover both wrongful death damages and survival damages for the same injury (e.g., Plaintiff does not contend that, in addition to wrongful death damages, she can also recover survival damages caused by Mr. Harris's death-resulting lung cancer ). Where the dispute arises is when a tortfeasor's single course of conduct causes multiple injuries, one of which results in death and at least one of which does not result in death. Here, the Defendants engaged in a single course of conduct of manufacturing and selling unreasonably dangerous cigarettes. However, that course of conduct produced several injuries in Mr. Harris: lung cancer, which resulted in his death, and oral cavity cancer, which did not result in his death.
Defendants argue that if a single course of conduct causes multiple injuries and one results in death, then a survivor's exclusive remedy is to recover damages under the Wrongful Death Act (see Doc. 103 at 4; Doc. 179 at 4 n.3) - even though a wrongful death action only encompasses damages caused by the injury that resulted in death, § 768.20, Fla. Stat. Under Defendants' interpretation of the law, the survivor would be precluded from recovering damages caused by any injury not resulting in death. To frame the argument differently, Defendants contend that the analysis should focus on whether the overall course of conduct resulted in death, and if so, the abatement clause precludes a survival action for any injury caused by that course of conduct. By contrast, Plaintiff contends the analysis should focus on whether the injury that is the subject of the action resulted in death. Plaintiff argues that the abatement clause precludes a survival action only with respect to the death-resulting injury. Under Plaintiffs interpretation, a survivor could recover wrongful death damages with respect to the injury that resulted in death as well as survival damages with respect to any injury that did not result in death. Both parties can marshal language from the case law that seemingly supports their positions. (E.g. , Doc. 178 at 5) (Defendants citing, inter alia, Perkins,
*1327The Court agrees with Plaintiff that in determining when the abatement clause precludes a a survival action, the proper focus is on the injury that is the subject of the action and whether that injury resulted in death. The abatement clause does not preclude all survival claims any time the defendant's "course of conduct" caused the decedent's death. That is so, first and foremost, because Defendants' "course of conduct" approach finds no support in the text of the statute. The abatement clause provides: "When a personal injury to the decedent results in death , no action/or the personal injury shall survive, and any such action pending at the time of death shall abate." (emphasis added).
The sentence that precedes the abatement clause buttresses this interpretation. The sentence states that in a wrongful death action, the decedent's personal representative "shall recover for the benefit of the decedent's survivors and estate all damages, as specified in this act, caused by the injury resulting in death." § 768.20, Fla. Stat. (emphasis added). This statement means that a wrongful death action, by its nature, is an action for damages caused by the particular injury resulting in death, not an action for all damages caused by the tortfeasor's "course of conduct." If one purpose of the abatement clause is to prevent double-recovery, that purpose is not served by precluding a survivor from pursuing survival damages caused by non-death-resulting injuries, which are not covered by the Wrongful Death Act.
What is more, the Florida Supreme Court has said "the survival statute is still applicable to preserve other actions which the decedent may have brought or was bringing prior to his death," Martin ,
"[T]he paramount purpose of the Florida Wrongful Death Act is to prevent a tortfeasor from evading liability for his misconduct when such misconduct results in death." Perkins,
Accordingly, the Court remains persuaded that Plaintiff may recover both wrongful death damages caused by Mr. Harris's fatal lung cancer as well as survival damages caused by Mr. Harris's non-fatal oral cavity cancer.
D. Whether Federal Law Preempts Plaintiff's Claims
Defendants argue that federal law impliedly preempts Plaintiff's claims for negligence and strict liability because the liability verdicts amount to a common law ban on cigarettes, which Defendants argue is contrary to Congress's intention to keep cigarettes on the market. (Doc. 178 at 7-12). The Eleventh Circuit rejected this argument in Graham v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. ,
Defendants also argue that the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act ("Labeling Act"),
E. Whether Giving the Engle Findings Preclusive Effect Violated Defendants' Right to Due Process
Next, Defendants argue that by giving the Engle Phase I jury findings preclusive effect, the Court violated the Defendants' right to due process. (Doc. 178 at 12-13). The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected this argument repeatedly, Burkhart v. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. ,
F. Whether the Evidence Was Sufficient to Support Plaintiff's Claims
Finally, Defendants assert, in conclusory fashion, that the evidence was insufficient to support the jury's verdict for Plaintiff on her negligence and strict liability claims. (Doc. 178 at 13-14). With respect to strict liability, Defendants argue that Plaintiff failed to offer sufficient evidence identifying a defect in their cigarettes or proving that such defects proximately caused her injuries. With respect to negligence, Defendants argue that Plaintiff failed to offer sufficient evidence to prove
that any Defendant (1) engaged in conduct that rendered its cigarettes not reasonably safe, (2) had a duty to warn of some specific hazard that was not known by Ms. Harris, (3) breached that or any other duty, (4) acted unreasonably or failed to provide warnings that the Defendants had a duty to provide, or (5) engaged in a negligent act or omission that proximately caused Mr. Harris's injuries.
(Doc. 178 at 14).
To the extent Plaintiff did not independently prove the "conduct" and "defect" elements of her negligence and strict *1330liability claims, that is because she was entitled to rely on the preclusive effect of the Engle Phase I findings. See Philip Morris USA, Inc. v. Douglas ,
To the extent Defendants argue that Plaintiff failed to introduce sufficient evidence of causation, the Court disagrees. Dr. David Burns, one of Plaintiff's medical experts, testified at length that Mr. Harris's addiction to cigarettes caused his oral cavity cancer, COPD, stroke, and lung cancer. (E.g. , Doc. 151 at 142; Doc. 152 at 5-12, 20-21, 100-01). Dr. Burns also explained that he was able to rule out alternative explanations for Mr. Harris's lung cancer. (Doc. 152 at 9-12). The Court should grant judgment as a matter of law only where "the facts and inferences point overwhelmingly in favor of one party, such that reasonable people could not arrive at a contrary verdict." Carter v. City of Miami ,
III. Defendants' Motion to Alter or Amend the Judgment
A. Standard
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e), "the district court possesses the power ... to alter or amend a judgment after its entry." Fed. R. Civ. P. 59, Advisory Comm. Note to Subdivision (e). "The only grounds for granting a Rule 59 motion are newly-discovered evidence or manifest errors of law or fact." Arthur v. King ,
B. Whether Defendants Are Entitled to an Offset Based on the Collateral Source Rule
Defendants' first argument in the Motion to Alter or Amend Judgment is that the Court must reduce the award of compensatory damages to reflect collateral source payments received by Mr. Harris. (Doc. 179 at 5-10). Defendants contend that the Court must reduce the award to reflect $ 1,019,709.79 in collateral source payments, consisting of $ 726,131.33 in discounted medical bills, id. at 6, and $ 293,578.46 "that private insurance providers paid ... on Mr. Harris's behalf in connection with his survival claims," id. Plaintiff responds that Defendants are not entitled to a setoff because Defendants failed to request a verdict form that separated medical expenses from other compensatory *1331damages (Doc. 183 at 5-8), and because Defendants failed to prove that Mr. Harris's health insurer or healthcare provider lacked a right of subrogation (id. at 8-9).
Florida's collateral source statute provides in pertinent part that
[i]n any action ... in which liability ... is determined by the trier of fact and in which damages are awarded to compensate the claimant for losses sustained, the court shall reduce the amount of such award by the total of all amounts which have been paid for the benefit of the claimant, or which are otherwise available to the claimant, from all collateral sources; however, there shall be no reduction for collateral sources for which a subrogation or reimbursement right exists.
§ 768.76(1), Fla. Stat. In short, the collateral source statute "mandate[es] post-trial setoff for money received from collateral sources." (Doc. 122 at 2). Collateral sources include payments made pursuant to a health insurance policy, § 768.76(2)(a) l, and pursuant to any contract to pay for hospital or healthcare services, § 768.76(2)(a) 3. Contractual write-offs given by a healthcare provider qualify as a collateral source payment. Goble v. Frohman ,
Collateral benefits cannot be subtracted from the total verdict, but must be subtracted only "from the 'portion of a verdict representing the same item of damages.' " Griffin v. Philip Morris USA, Inc. ,
In this case, Defendants did not seek an itemized verdict form. Nor did Defendants object to the verdict form insofar as it called on the jury to return a general award of compensatory damages. Thus, when the jury determined that the compensatory damages for Mr. Harris's oral cavity cancer and lung cancer were $ 1,326,650.00 and $ 400,000.00, respectively, the verdict did not specify what amounts, if any, were for medical expenses and what amounts were for pain and suffering.
Defendants are not entitled to an offset because this case is analogous to Griffin ,
Defendants insist they are still entitled to the full amount of the offset because the jury awarded $ 1,326,650.00 in compensatory damages on the survival claim, which happened to be the full amount of Plaintiff's medical expenses (about $ 1,126,650) plus $ 200,000.00. (Doc. 179 at 9). Thus, Defendants suggest, the compensatory damages verdict on the survival claim must have encompassed $ 1,126,650 in medical expenses, which is subject to a collateral source offset. But the Eleventh Circuit implicitly rejected a similar argument in Griffin. In that case, the parties reached a stipulation about the plaintiff's medical bills and the district court instructed the jury that the total amount of the plaintiffs past medical expenses was $ 584,200.53. Griffin,
Defendants also argue that Plaintiff is precluded from arguing that the general verdict format prevents any setoff because the parties "stipulated that all issues of setoff should be addressed post-verdict." (Doc. 179 at 8). During trial, Plaintiff sought to prove Mr. Harris's medical expenses by admitting a chart summarizing his billing records. Defendants objected on the ground that the chart inflated Mr. Harris's medical expenses by listing the amounts billed to Mr. Harris, not the amounts he actually paid. (Id. at 2) (citing Doc. 154 at 4-14). Plaintiff countered that "[a]dmitting only the reduced or contractual amount of Mr. Harris's medical bills is tantamount to admitting impermissible collateral source evidence," and that "[a]ny set-off for the discounted or contractual amount of a bill is within the province of the Court, not the jury, and is properly calculated post-trial." (Doc. 122 at 1).
Defendants' argument is a red herring. The fact that Plaintiff argued, and the Court ruled, that the issue of collateral-source offsets should be handled after the trial did nothing to prevent Defendants from requesting an itemized verdict form. Defendants were still free to request an itemized verdict form, which would have *1333enabled the Court to identify which portions of the compensatory damages, if any, were subject to an offset. But Defendants did not make such a request. As a result, the Court is unable to differentiate, without speculating, which portion of the verdict is for medical expenses and which portion is for pain and suffering. To borrow Plaintiff's words, "it is simply too late to unscramble these eggs." (Doc. 183 at 1).
Accordingly, the Court finds that, just like in Griffin, the jury's general damages verdict prevents the Court from being able to apply any reduction for collateral source payments.
C. Whether the Judgment Must Be Amended to Reflect Mr. Harris' Comparative Fault
Finally, Defendants argue that the Court must amend the judgment to reflect the degree of comparative fault that the jury attributed to each party. (Doc. 179 at 10-12).
The Court agrees as well. The judgment is due to be amended to reflect each Defendant's liability to Mr. Harris as follows:
1. R.J. Reynolds: $ 238,997.50 = ($ 1,326,650 × 0.15) + ($ 400,000 × 0.10)
2. Philip Morris: $238.50 = ($ 1,326,650 × 0.15) + ($ 400,000 × 0.10)
3. Lorillard: $ 172,665.00 = ($ 1,326,650 × 0.10) + ($ 400,000 × 0.10)
The total judgment for Mr. Harris is thus $ 650,660.00.
IV. Conclusion
For the reasons set forth above, the Court affirms its prior rulings that Mr. Harris qualifies as a member of the Engle class and that Plaintiff may recover both wrongful death and survival damages under the circumstances of this case. Defendants are not entitled to the application of collateral source offsets, but the judgment is due to be amended to reflect each parry's degree of comparative fault. Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED:
1. Defendants' Renewed Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law on All Claims and alternative Motion for New Trial (Doc. 178) is DENIED .
2. Defendants' Motion to Alter or Amend Judgment (Doc. 179) is *1334GRANTED to the extent that the Court will amend the judgment to reflect each party's degree of comparative fault. An amended judgment will be entered in favor of Plaintiff and against each Defendant as follows:
a. Against Philip Morris USA in the amount of $ 238,997.50.
b. Against R.J. Reynolds in the amount of $ 238,997.50.
c. Against Lorillard in the amount of $ 172,665.00.
3. Otherwise, Defendants' Motion to Alter or Amend Judgment is DENIED.
4. The Court defers ruling on Plaintiff's Motion for Attorneys' Fees (Doc. 176) until any appeal in this case is resolved.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
The Court refers to lawsuits filed pursuant to the Florida Supreme Court's opinion in Engle v. Liggett Group, Inc. ,
The verdict form did not ask the jury to determine whether Mr. Harris's lung cancer manifested on or before November 21, 1996, but Defendants did not litigate that specific point or object to the proposed jury instructions or verdict form on that basis. (See Doc. 121).
See Doc. 141 at 24; Doc. 143 at 3.
Thus, Plaintiff's net recovery for the diseases not resulting in Mr. Harris's death was $ 530,660.00.
Thus, Plaintiff's net recovery for the diseases that did result in Mr. Harris's death was $ 120,000.00.
Because this Court is exercising diversity jurisdiction, it has a duty to apply Florida substantive law. See Erie R.R. Co. v. Tompkins,
In merging the two actions, the legislature consolidated certain items of survival damages - loss of earnings, medical expenses, and funeral expenses - under the new Wrongful Death Act. Id. at 769. Additionally, "[t]he claim for pain and suffering of the decedent from the date of injury to the decedent was eliminated. Substituted therefor was a claim for pain and suffering of close relatives, the clear purpose being that any recovery should be for the living and not for the dead." Id. Bear in mind, however, that the Wrongful Death Act allows recovery of such damages only to the extent "caused by the injury resulting in death." § 768.20, Fla. Stat.
In a 4-page order in Shadd v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. , Case No. 2008CA038631,
In any event, for the reasons given in this Order, the Court believes that the Florida Supreme Court would reach a conclusion different from the trial court in Shadd . The Court also believes that the trial court's reliance on Skyrme v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. ,
Section 768.19 does state that a person shall be liable for damages "[w]hen the death of a person is caused by the wrongful act, negligence, default, or breach of contract or warranty of any person ... and the event would have entitled the person injured to maintain an action and recover damages if death had not ensued." § 768.19, Fla. Stat. However, this statute speaks only to the creation of a right of action for wrongful death, not when a survival action abates.
It is easy to imagine a similar scenario repeating itself in other toxic tort cases. A person's exposure to a toxin may cause a chronic, long-term illness that does not result in death, but may also cause the person to develop an aggressive form of cancer that swiftly kills him. In such a case, the medical expenses and pain and suffering related to the chronic illness could exceed those related to the cancer that took the decedent's life. If the law were applied as Defendants suggest, the decedent's survivors would be precluded from recovering damages caused by the non-fatal chronic illness.
The Labeling Act also preempts state-law claims for concealment, but only to the extent those claims rely on a state-law duty to disclose material facts through advertising and promotion. See Cipollone ,
Plaintiff was correct in so arguing. "[C]ollateral source evidence may not be introduced before the jury," and application of collateral source offsets must be handled by the court after entry of the verdict. Sheffield v. Superior Ins. Co. ,
Based on this ruling, the Court need not reach the issue of whose burden it is to prove that the insurer lacked a right of subrogation and whether that party met its burden.
Defendants also argue that to properly calculate damages, the Court must first reduce the judgment by Mr. Harris's fault, then deduct collateral source payments. (Doc. 179 at 12-13). However, the Court does not reach this argument because it has ruled that Defendants are not entitled to a collateral source offset.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Patricia HARRIS, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Gerald Harris v. R.J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO COMPANY
- Status
- Published