Smokers suing tobacco companies don’t have to prove how early they knew cigarettes gave them cancer or other diseases to benefit from pre-established findings, the Florida Supreme Court ruled 5-2 Thursday.
For members of the disbanded Engle class, findings of product defect, negligence, fraudulent concealment and conspiracy to conceal are established as a matter of law. Plaintiffs must show their smoking-related diseases “manifested” themselves before Nov. 21, 1996, to benefit from the findings of a Miami jury that heard the original class action trial.
