Florida Supreme Court Upholds Reversal Of $16M Punitive Award To Smoker’s Estate

Mealey's ( January 5, 2023, 1:39 PM EST) -- TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Supreme Court on Jan. 5 ruled 5-1 that an appellate panel properly reversed a $16 million punitive damages jury award to a deceased smoker’s estate because it was unreasonably greater than the $300,000 compensatory damages award, with a dissenting justice writing that the majority erred by concluding that the smoker’s death “is not a cognizable injury for purposes of punitive damages claims.”...