spacer
home
spacer
cases
spacer
services
spacer
forms
spacer
faqs
spacer
glossary
spacer
articles
spacer
newsletter
spacer
about us
spacer
contacts
spacer
banner
FEATURED CASE

ECONOMIST’S TESTIMONY ASSISTS JURY IN AWARDING $20 MILLION IN PUNITIVE DAMAGES TO WIDOW OF SMOKER


Robert W. Johnson & Associates was solely retained to provide economic testimony in quantifying punitive damages.

Location: Brooklyn, NY

Case: Gladys Frankson v. Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corporation, et al.

Court: Supreme Court of New York, Kings County, Brooklyn, New York, Index No. 24915/00.

Plaintiff’s Attorneys: Plaintiff’s attorneys Michael London and Gary J. Douglas, New York, New York.

Judge:  The Honorable Herbert Kramer.

Case Synopsis: Harry W. Frankson began smoking in his early teenage years. He smoked unfiltered Lucky Strike cigarettes for over forty years until he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1998. Mr. Frankson died in February 1999 at the age of 58.

After his death, Gladys Frankson sued American Tobacco Company, original maker of Lucky Strike, in a product liability suit for failing to warn customers of the dangers of smoking. In 1995, American Tobacco merged with Brown and Williamson.

On December 18, 2003, the jury awarded Mr. Frankson’s estate a $350,000 verdict against Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corporation. The jury felt that Mr. Frankson was 50 percent responsible, which reduced his compensatory award to $175,000. The jury also determined that punitive damages would be assessed against the defendants.

For More Information....

Punitive Damages Cases:

  • An Arizona Jury Awards $19.2 Million In Damages Against National Chain Of Skilled Nursing Facilities Read More...
  • Los Angeles Jury Awards $9.2 Million, Including $6 Million in Punitive Damages, to Living Cancer Victim. Read More...
  • Economist's Testimony Assists Jury Against Philip Morris. $28 Billion. Read More...
  • Broward Circuit Court Jury Orders Philip Morris USA to Pay $300 Million to Ex-Smoker. Read More...
  • Economist Quantifies Commercial Bad Faith Damages. Read More...
  • Economist Quantifies Damages to Homemaker in Tobacco Case. Read More...
Related Services:

Lawyers stated that it was the first time a jury in the state of New York has awarded damages against a tobacco company.

Expert Consultation: In this case, Mr. Johnson was retained to testify as to Brown and Williamson’s economic health, wealth and economic status. Mr. Johnson reviewed financials for Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of British American Tobacco, plc. He was able to convey that Brown and Williamson is an extremely strong company with $3.57 billion in sales and $530 million in operating profit for the year of 2002. They had a market value of $3.9 billion at the end of 2003. He also concluded that Brown and Williamson had 10.32% of the U.S. cigarette market share.

Result: On January 16, 2004, the jury awarded $20 million in punitive damages. The $20 million was allocated as follows: $8 million against Brown and Williamson, the successor to the American Tobacco Company; $6 million against the Council for Tobacco Research; and $6 million against the Tobacco Institute.

Attorney’s Comments: “Mr. Johnson’s expert testimony was very helpful in putting punitive damages into perspective. He was able to show that Brown and Williamson could absorb millions in punitive damages without crippling or wounding the company.

“One of Mr. Johnson’s techniques was to show sales on a per diem, weekly and monthly basis. This illustrated the vast wealth of the tobacco company and allowed the jury to assess a fair, but not excessive, award.”