A Florida jury returned an eight-figure verdict to the children of a deceased smoker, but the plaintiffs’ lead attorney warned of the implications that a recent precedential Florida Supreme Court ruling had on the outcome.
Nicholas Reyes, a partner at the Alvarez Law Firm in Coral Gables, pointed to the state Supreme Court’s ruling in Prentice v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco as the largest hurdle to overcome for the plaintiff, Fernando Rey’s adult children. In Prentice, the Supreme Court ruled that an “Engle progeny” plaintiff must prove reliance on a statement that an Engle defendant made.
