Pensacola Woman Wins $30 Million Lawsuit Against Big Tobacco

A Florida jury awarded $30 million to a Pensacola widown who's husband died of lung cancer. Prosecutors say R.J. Reynolds conspired to make their products more addictive and withheld information about the dangers of smoking.

By: Jamie Burch | WKRG-TV
Published: June 01, 2009

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PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) - A Florida jury has awarded $30 million to
a Pensacola widow in a ruling against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco.
Lawyers for Benny Martin, who died of lung cancer in 1995, said
the tobacco company conspired to make their products more addictive
to customers and withheld information about the dangers of smoking.
They said Martin started smoking 20 years before cigarettes had
warning labels. The case is one of the first to be tried after the
2006 Florida Supreme Court ruling that threw out a massive class
action award to thousands of smokers and required the cases be
proven individually.
An e-mail sent to R.J. Reynolds was not immediately returned.
Attorney Matt Schultz said he hopes the judgment will "deter
these kinds of corporate activities in the future."

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)