R.J. Reynolds wins complete defense verdict in Gallagher personal injury lawsuit

Client(s) R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company

Following three weeks of trial, a jury in state court in Woburn, Massachusetts returned a complete defense verdict in favor of Jones Day client, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. The plaintiff asserted that Reynolds' cigarettes were defectively designed and negligently marketed and that Reynolds engaged in unfair and deceptive conduct in connection with the marketing and sale of its cigarettes, failed to adequately warn the plaintiff about the dangers of smoking cigarettes before July 1, 1969, committed fraudulent misrepresentation, and conspired with other tobacco manufacturers to conceal the health risks and addictive nature of cigarettes. The plaintiff sought over $33 million in compensatory damages, alleging that he developed bladder and urethral cancers from smoking. After more than a day of deliberations, the jury returned a complete defense verdict on all of plaintiff's claims.

Joseph Gallagher v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, et al., No. 2281-cv-03347 (Super. Ct. Middlesex Cty., Mass.)