Tobacco Firms Try to Spook Fla. Plaintiffs

Tobacco companies are trying to frighten Florida residents away from filing sick-smoker claims by making token settlement offers that expose plaintiffs to legal fees if they reject the offer, file suit anyway, and lose, Law.com reported Jan. 20.

Under Florida law, plaintiffs who reject settlement offers can be compelled to pay the legal fees of defendants if they lose at trial, so firms like Philip Morris are offering individuals who were part of the Engle class-action lawsuit settlements of $500 to $2,500 to expose them to potentially tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees.

“Defendants are making these offers of judgment for a very nominal amount to put the plaintiff at some risk if he or she loses the case at trial,” acknowledged Murray Garnick, a lawyer for Altria, the parent firm of Philip Morris.

“They will pursue a losing smoker and their family to the ends of the Earth to make an example out of him and to discourage others from trying to get compensation for 50 years of fraud and deceit,” said lawyer Philip Gerson, who has represented many smokers in cases against the tobacco industry.

The Engle class-action suit was dismissed, but the Florida Supreme Court ruled that individuals in the class could sue tobacco companies individually based on jury findings that the companies deceived the public about the health risks of smoking. Tobacco companies have lost most of the cases that have gone to trial.