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Contact: Edward L. Sweda or
February 7, 2003
Defense Verdict reached in Lucier Trial in Sacramento
Commentary and Background on the Trial Verdict
LAURENCE LUCIER and
LAURIE LUCIER, Today, a 12 person jury in state court in Sacramento, California issued a verdict finding Philip Morris, Inc. and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company not liable for the lung cancer of a Sacramento man. After a two month trial, the jury deliberated for just over two days before issuing its verdict shortly after 11 AM PST. It is difficult to determine why this particular jury trial led to a defense verdict. The previous six West Coast jury trials against tobacco industry defendants had led to plaintiffs' verdicts with punitive damage. But it is clear that different juries will see things differently depending on how the case is presented, what evidence is allowed, and the sort of testimony permitted by the trial court. There had been some delays in getting this trial to the jury as, presumably, the plaintiff and defendants contested what statements could be made during closing arguments and what instructions would be given to the jurors. A gag order issued by the court prevented the attorneys from revealing the cause of the delays. Edward Sweda, Senior Attorney for the Tobacco Products Liability Project at Northeastern University noted: "While we are disappointed with today's verdict, We must remember that the goal of tobacco litigation is to improve the public health by holding the companies accountable for their corporate wrongdoing. Several major verdicts, both in California and in other states, remain on track to do exactly that. We have never claimed that all tobacco cases generally or all tobacco cases in California will result in victories for plaintiffs. There are, however, increasing numbers of plaintiff victories in tobacco cases to make it extremely unlikely that the companies will be able to avoid being held accountable for their wrongdoing." Mark Gottlieb, also an attorney for the Tobacco Products Liability Project observed that, "even though this verdict is a setback, it is truly remarkable that there are now five other tobacco trials in progress today. In fact, the number of cases going to trial against the tobacco companies has increased to the point where it is no simple matter to keep track of each of these cases. If this trend continues, and there is every indication that it will, there will soon be dozens of trials going on at any one time. If plaintiffs continue winning about 50% of these trial verdicts, the U.S. cigarette industry will find itself in an extremely tenuous position." The lawsuit was filed on June 2, 2000 by Laurence and Laurie Lucier against Philip Morris, Inc. and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Inc. The case was originally filed in the Superior Court of San Francisco but was later transferred to Superior Court in Sacramento, Calif. on Philip Morris' motion. Laurence Lucier was born on May 19, 1950 in Florida but grew up in Rochester, NY and St. Louis, MO. He met and married Laurie Lucier in 1995 and moved to Sacramento in 2000. Mr. Lucier began to smoke as an adolescent in the early 1960s. He smoked Kents and Benson & Hedges because his parents smoked those brands. He also smoked Winstons that came from his brother. He continued to smoke until he was diagnosed with lung cancer in June of 1999. Mr. Lucier’s cancer has been in remission since 2001. The plaintiffs are represented by Gary Paul of the Santa Monica firm of Paul & Janofsky, and Mary Alexander of the San Francisco firm of Alexander & Associates, P.C. The trial judge is Judge Steven H. Rodda. The trial began Oct. 28, 2002 and broke for the holidays. The jury consisted of 12 jurors. A verdict requires agreement among at least nine of the 12 jurors. The plaintiffs, Laurence and Laurie Lucier, alleged that Mr. Lucier developed lung cancer as a result of his smoking cigarettes produced by the defendants Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds. The plaintiffs allege that these defendants, along with the other cigarette manufacturers, have, over the course of decades, misrepresented, concealed, suppressed, and failed to disclose information known to them concerning the addictive and harmful properties of their products. Philip Morris and RJR knew that cigarettes kill, but that if the word ever got out, they would lose billions of dollars, according to the plaintiffs. Importantly, the Luciers argue that the defendants manipulated chemicals and nicotine levels in the cigarettes so that they would be even more addictive. The plaintiffs filed their original complaint on June 2, 2000, and amended their complaint for damages on Nov. 21, 2000. At issue in the trial are six causes of action: (1) negligence; (2) strict liability; (3) false representation; (4) deceit, fraudulent concealment; (5) breach of express warranty; and (6) loss of consortium. The plaintiffs have since dismissed their causes of action for unfair competition/unlawful business practices, negligent false and misleading advertising, and intentional false and misleading advertising. The plaintiffs asked the jury to award $3.6 million for medical expenses, loss of income and the pain and suffering that Lucier's illness has caused his wife and their 6-year-old daughter as well as punitive damages. In closing, Gary Paul, one of Lucier's attorneys, told the jury that ``the equivalent of the entire population of Sacramento,'' or 400,000 people, dies from smoking-related caused. For fifty years, these companies concealed, they deceived and they mislead, and they continue to do it today.'' The jury deliberated for a little more than two days,
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