Cooper v. RJ Reynolds

Summary

In this Engle progeny lawsuit, Mary Cooper, a smoker for several decades, claims she contracted laryngeal cancer because of her addiction to cigarettes.

Outcome

Verdict for Plaintiff

Fault:

Mary Cooper 50%
RJ Reynolds 40%
Phillip Morris 10 %

Case Information

Attorneys

Witnesses

Plaintiff: Cooper, Mary
Defense: R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.
Philip Morris USA, Inc.
Liggett Group Inc.
Philip Morris Tobacco Co
Verdict: $4,500,000

Judge: John Murphy
Jurisdiction: 17th Judicial Circuit of Florida
Court: Judicial Complex

Case Number: CACE08026350
Industry: Tobacco
Practice Area: Tobacco

Plaintiff

Cooper, Mary

Defense

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

Defense

Philip Morris USA, Inc.

Represented By:
Henk, Peter (Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP)

Defense

Liggett Group Inc.

Represented By:
Luther, Kelly (Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP)

Defense

Philip Morris Tobacco Co

Represented By:
Wagner, Jeffrey (Kaye Scholer LLP (Tallahassee))

Expert Witnesses

Lay Witnesses

Sessions

Attorney

Witness

Type

Description

PM Session

Other

4 Chapters

			Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
		00:00:00	General Case Activities
		01:11:16	Break
		01:17:08	General Case Activities
		03:25:16	End of Session

AUG

AM Session

Openings

7 Chapters

PM Session

Openings

7 Chapters

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

3 Chapters

AUG

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

10 Chapters

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

11 Chapters

AUG

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

6 Chapters

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

6 Chapters

AUG

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

6 Chapters

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

9 Chapters

AUG

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

8 Chapters

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

7 Chapters

AUG

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

8 Chapters

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

10 Chapters

AUG

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

12 Chapters

AUG

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

9 Chapters

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

6 Chapters

AUG

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

9 Chapters

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

8 Chapters

AUG

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

12 Chapters

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

11 Chapters

AUG

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

8 Chapters

PM Session

Defense Witness(es)

8 Chapters

AUG

AM Session

Defense Witness(es)

7 Chapters

PM Session

Defense Witness(es)

10 Chapters

SEP

AM Session

Defense Witness(es)

5 Chapters

PM Session

Defense Witness(es)

9 Chapters

SEP

AM Session

Defense Witness(es)

11 Chapters

PM Session

Defense Witness(es)

11 Chapters

SEP

AM Session

Closings

7 Chapters

PM Session

Closings

7 Chapters

SEP

PM Session

Verdict

4 Chapters

SEP

Recording Disclaimer: This proceeding was recorded in full.

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:00:52	Opening Statement	Belasic, Mark
01:24:44	Break
01:34:38	Opening Statement	Wagner, Jeffrey
02:01:52	General Case Activities
02:08:37	Witness Direct Examination	Hammer, Steven	Cooper, Mary	In Person
02:54:47	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:00:42	Witness Direct Examination	Hammer, Steven	Cooper, Mary	In Person
00:24:38	Witness Cross Examination	Belasic, Mark	Cooper, Mary	In Person
01:22:45	Break
01:39:10	General Case Activities
01:39:28	Witness Cross Examination	Belasic, Mark	Cooper, Mary	In Person
03:27:44	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Hammer, Steven	Cooper, Mary	In Person
03:44:36	General Case Activities
03:45:08	Break
03:49:16	General Case Activities
04:05:45	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:06:41	Witness Direct Examination	Gdanski, Jonathan	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
01:36:39	Break
01:48:14	General Case Activities
01:50:49	Witness Direct Examination	Gdanski, Jonathan	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
03:23:02	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:20:00	Witness Direct Examination	Gdanski, Jonathan	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
01:50:53	General Case Activities
01:53:23	Break
02:03:09	Witness Direct Examination	Gdanski, Jonathan	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
03:30:23	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:00:14	Witness Direct Examination	Gdanski, Jonathan	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
00:41:09	Break
00:56:01	General Case Activities
01:02:07	Break
01:17:17	General Case Activities
01:29:14	Witness Direct Examination	Gdanski, Jonathan	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
03:36:25	General Case Activities
03:45:51	End of Session

Cooper v. RJ Reynolds

Summary

Outcome

Sessions

Suggest a Trial

CVN Essentials

Video Library

	Description	Attorney
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:01:12	Opening Statement	Schlesinger, Scott
01:44:45	General Case Activities
01:49:54	Break
01:56:21	Opening Statement	Johnstone, Crane
02:19:01	General Case Activities
02:23:35	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:17:29	Break
00:24:29	General Case Activities
00:38:19	Witness Direct Examination	Hammer, Steven	Cooper, Mary	In Person
02:07:08	General Case Activities
02:17:11	Break
02:25:55	General Case Activities
02:34:14	Witness Direct Examination	Hammer, Steven	Cooper, Mary	In Person
03:22:01	General Case Activities
03:31:30	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:00:45	Witness Direct Examination	Gdanski, Jonathan	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
01:28:58	General Case Activities
01:55:14	Break
02:00:58	General Case Activities
03:58:47	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:02:41	Witness Direct Examination	Gdanski, Jonathan	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
01:39:20	Break
01:51:48	Witness Direct Examination	Gdanski, Jonathan	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
02:24:13	Break
02:32:32	Witness Cross Examination	Belasic, Mark	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
03:14:55	General Case Activities
03:21:47	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:02:36	Witness Cross Examination	Belasic, Mark	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
01:08:40	General Case Activities
01:24:35	Break
01:30:50	Witness Cross Examination	Belasic, Mark	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
02:16:00	General Case Activities
02:24:04	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:04:14	Break
00:10:58	General Case Activities
00:14:23	Witness Direct Examination	Johnstone, Crane	Sessions, Dr. Roy	In Person
01:28:45	Break
01:44:33	Witness Direct Examination	Johnstone, Crane	Sessions, Dr. Roy	In Person
03:14:18	General Case Activities
03:15:15	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:00:15	Witness Cross Examination	Murphy, Dennis	Sessions, Dr. Roy	In Person
00:45:52	General Case Activities
00:52:17	Break
00:58:35	General Case Activities
01:00:38	Witness Cross Examination	Murphy, Dennis	Sessions, Dr. Roy	In Person
02:07:39	Break
02:18:46	Witness Cross Examination	Murphy, Dennis	Sessions, Dr. Roy	In Person
02:33:45	Witness Cross Examination	Wagner, Jeffrey	Sessions, Dr. Roy	In Person
02:48:01	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Johnstone, Crane	Sessions, Dr. Roy	In Person
03:30:36	General Case Activities
03:41:40	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:02:58	Witness Direct Examination	Gdanski, Jonathan	Mudad, Dr. Raja M.D.	In Person
00:52:37	Break
01:00:55	Witness Cross Examination	Murphy, Dennis	Mudad, Dr. Raja M.D.	In Person
02:09:22	General Case Activities
02:20:34	Witness Cross Examination	Wagner, Jeffrey	Mudad, Dr. Raja M.D.	In Person
02:46:06	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Gdanski, Jonathan	Mudad, Dr. Raja M.D.	In Person
03:19:15	General Case Activities
03:20:58	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:02:26	Witness Cross Examination	Wagner, Jeffrey	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
01:43:02	Break
01:58:13	Witness Cross Examination	Wagner, Jeffrey	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
03:16:23	General Case Activities
03:32:46	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:01:00	General Case Activities
00:04:59	Witness Cross Examination	Wagner, Jeffrey	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
01:08:28	Break
01:17:37	General Case Activities
01:28:29	Witness Cross Examination	Wagner, Jeffrey	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
02:23:27	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Gdanski, Jonathan	Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
03:13:28	General Case Activities		Cummings, Dr. Kenneth "Michael" Ph.D.	In Person
03:16:46	General Case Activities
03:17:28	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:07:32	Witness Direct Examination	Schlesinger, Scott	Shapiro, Dr. Craig D.O.	In Person
01:36:05	General Case Activities
01:37:26	Break
01:47:56	Witness Direct Examination	Schlesinger, Scott	Shapiro, Dr. Craig D.O.	In Person
02:14:27	Break
02:15:03	General Case Activities
02:15:26	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:00:19	Witness Direct Examination	Schlesinger, Scott	Shapiro, Dr. Craig D.O.	In Person
00:49:03	General Case Activities
00:56:00	Break
01:05:36	Witness Cross Examination	Murphy, Dennis	Shapiro, Dr. Craig D.O.	In Person
02:22:41	Break
02:27:17	General Case Activities
02:31:18	Witness Cross Examination	Murphy, Dennis	Shapiro, Dr. Craig D.O.	In Person
02:43:11	Witness Cross Examination	Wagner, Jeffrey	Shapiro, Dr. Craig D.O.	In Person
02:51:02	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Schlesinger, Scott	Shapiro, Dr. Craig D.O.	In Person
03:08:11	General Case Activities
03:12:07	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:00:29	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Schlesinger, Scott	Shapiro, Dr. Craig D.O.	In Person
00:12:55	General Case Activities		Shapiro, Dr. Craig D.O.	In Person
00:15:45	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Murphy, Dennis	Shapiro, Dr. Craig D.O.	In Person
00:16:06	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Schlesinger, Scott	Shapiro, Dr. Craig D.O.	In Person
00:17:24	General Case Activities
00:25:25	Witness Direct Examination		Weed, Dr. Donald M.D.	Video Recording
01:30:37	Break
01:41:13	Witness Direct Examination		Weed, Dr. Donald M.D.	Video Recording
02:33:29	General Case Activities
02:35:56	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:06:02	Witness Direct Examination		Weed, Dr. Donald M.D.	Video Recording
01:53:18	General Case Activities
01:54:13	Break
02:08:31	General Case Activities
02:18:39	Witness Direct Examination	Murphy, Dennis	Biel, Dr. Merrill	In Person
02:47:49	General Case Activities
03:21:26	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:10:41	Witness Direct Examination	Murphy, Dennis	Biel, Dr. Merrill	In Person
01:29:58	Break
01:38:51	Witness Direct Examination	Murphy, Dennis	Biel, Dr. Merrill	In Person
02:20:22	Break
02:32:11	Witness Cross Examination	Johnstone, Crane	Biel, Dr. Merrill	In Person
03:38:31	General Case Activities
03:42:05	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:16:08	Witness Direct Examination	Belasic, Mark	Agharkar, Dr. Bhushan M.D.	In Person
01:43:24	Break
01:59:20	Witness Direct Examination	Belasic, Mark	Agharkar, Dr. Bhushan M.D.	In Person
02:08:35	Witness Cross Examination	Gdanski, Jonathan	Agharkar, Dr. Bhushan M.D.	In Person
03:03:12	General Case Activities
03:04:33	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:11:13	Witness Direct Examination	Murphy, Dennis	Bennett, Dr. Thomas M.D.	In Person
01:32:27	Break
01:52:32	Witness Direct Examination	Murphy, Dennis	Bennett, Dr. Thomas M.D.	In Person
03:05:16	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:00:18	Witness Cross Examination	Johnstone, Crane	Bennett, Dr. Thomas M.D.	In Person
01:17:16	Break
01:24:38	Witness Cross Examination	Johnstone, Crane	Bennett, Dr. Thomas M.D.	In Person
02:26:21	Break
02:29:58	General Case Activities
04:14:08	Break
04:21:46	General Case Activities
05:51:08	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:05:55	Witness Cross Examination	Johnstone, Crane	Bennett, Dr. Thomas M.D.	In Person
00:23:06	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Murphy, Dennis	Bennett, Dr. Thomas M.D.	In Person
00:53:34	Break
01:01:40	Witness Cross Examination	Johnstone, Crane	Biel, Dr. Merrill	In Person
01:57:47	Break
02:06:00	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Murphy, Dennis	Biel, Dr. Merrill	In Person
02:32:21	Witness Direct Examination		Bray, Charles	Video Recording
03:46:55	Break
04:14:47	General Case Activities
05:03:19	End of Session

	Description	Attorney
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:47:34	Closing Statement	Schlesinger, Scott
02:30:27	Break
02:46:00	General Case Activities
02:50:44	Closing Statement	Belasic, Mark
03:41:13	General Case Activities
03:43:50	End of Session

	Description	Attorney
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:03:47	Closing Statement	Murphy, Dennis
00:44:38	Closing Statement	Wagner, Jeffrey
01:25:37	Break
01:34:32	Closing Statement	Schlesinger, Scott
01:58:04	General Case Activities
02:20:55	End of Session

			Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
		00:00:00	General Case Activities
		00:01:03	Reading of the Verdict
		00:03:53	General Case Activities
		00:07:47	End of Session