PHILIP MORRIS USA INC., APPELLANT,

v.

VICKIE MCKEEVER, AS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE OF THEODORE MCKEEVER, APPELLEE

Fla. 4th DCA | 2017-01-04

No. 4D15-2493

Taylor, J., Levine, J., Conner, J.

207 So. 3d 907 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (2017) Positive Treatment

Cited by 6 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

Florida appellate court affirmed a $17.4 million judgment against Philip Morris in a tobacco survival action but reversed the compensatory damages award to address comparative fault reduction.

Holding

Compensatory damages in a tobacco survival action must be reduced in proportion to the plaintiff's comparative fault, reversing the trial court's failure to apply such reduction.

Headnotes

[1] In an Engle progeny tobacco survival action, compensatory damages must be reduced in proportion to the decedent's comparative fault.

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Facts & Procedural History

Theodore McKeever died from tobacco-related illness. His estate, represented by his widow Vickie McKeever, sued Philip Morris USA in a survival action…

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Topics

Engle Progeny Case Survival Action Comparative Fault Loss Of Consortium

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Opinion of the Court

Per Curiam,

In this Engle1 progeny case that was tried as a survival action, Philip Morris USA, Inc., appeals a final judgment awarding Vickie McKeever, the personal representative of the estate of her late husband, Theodore McKeever, $5,798,170.45 in compensatory damages (including $2 million for loss of consortium) and $11,625,000 in punitive damages. We affirm on all issues except appellant’s argument that it is entitled to a reduction in the compensatory damages award in proportion to Mr. McKeever’s share of fault. On this issue, we reverse. See R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Schoeff, 178 So.3d 487 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015), rev. granted, No. SC15-2233, 2016 WL 3127698 (Fla. 2016).

We also briefly address appellant’s due process and preemption arguments. As appellant acknowledges, there is binding case law rejecting appellant’s arguments that due process precluded giving the Engle findings preclusive effect and that the plaintiffs strict liability and negligence claims were preempted by federal law. See Philip Morris USA, Inc., v. Douglas, 110 So.3d 419 (Fla. 2013); R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Marotta, 182 So.3d 829 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016), rev. granted, No. SC16-218, 2016 WL 934971 (Fla. 2016). We affirm on these issues, but note that appellant wishes to preserve these arguments for possible further review.

Affirmed in part and Reversed in part.

Taylor, Levine and Conner, JJ., concur.

Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus

Citator

Cited By

Philip Morris USA, Inc. v. Duignan, 243 So. 3d 426 (Fla. 2d DCA 2017)

…Court in Philip Morris USA, Inc. v. Douglas, 110 So. 3d 419, 430-36 (Fla. 2013), and the second was rejected by the Florida Supreme Court in R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Marotta, 214 So. 3d 590, 605 (Fla. 2017). Philip Morris USA Inc. v. McKeever, 207 So. 3d 907 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017) ; R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Grossman, 211 So. 3d 221 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017) ; R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Calloway, 201 So. 3d 753 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016), review denied, No. SC16-1937, 2017 WL 1023712, *1 (Fla. Mar. 16, 2017), cert…
Philip Morris USA, Inc. v. Pollari, 228 So. 3d 115 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017)

…As Defendants concede, precedent clearly rejects these arguments. See R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Marotta, 214 So. 3d 590, 596-605 (Fla. 2017); Philip Morris USA Inc. v. Douglas, 110 So. 3d 419, 436 (Fla. 2013); Philip Morris USA Inc. v. McKeever, 207 So. 3d 907, 907 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017). On cross-appeal, Plaintiff asserts the trial court should not have reduced the initially awarded amount of compensatory damages based on the jury’s allocation of comparative fault,’ as the jury found Defendants liable for i…
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Evers, 232 So. 3d 457 (Fla. 2d DCA 2017)

…hat the trial court properly awarded interest as accruing from the date of the original final judgment. Affirmed. SILBERMAN and KELLY, JJ., Concur. . Engle v. Liggett Grp., inc., 945 So. 2d 1246 (Fla. 2006). . Philip Morris USA Inc. v. McKeever, 207 So. 3d 907 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017); R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Grossman, 211 So. 3d 221 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017), appeals filed, SC17-688 (Fla. Apr. 13, 2017) and SC17-706 (Fla. Apr. 18, 2017); R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Calloway, 201 So. 3d 753 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016)…

Authorities Cited

Howard A. Engle, M.D. v. Liggett Grp., Inc., 945 So. 2d 1246 (Fla. 2006)
Philip Morris USA, Inc. v. Douglas, 110 So. 3d 419 (Fla. 2013)
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Schoeff, 178 So. 3d 487 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015)
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Marotta, 182 So. 3d 829 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016)

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