R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Gloger
In an Engle-progeny tobacco case yielding a $42.5 million verdict, the Third DCA reversed for a new trial because the trial court erred in denying the defendants' for-cause challenge to a prospective juror who repeatedly said she would expect the defendants to prove the decedent was not addicted despite being told they bore no such burden. The court held her equivocal 'case-by-case' recantation did not dispel the reasonable doubt about her impartiality and ability to follow the law, and the error was not harmless because defendants had to expend a peremptory and were denied an additional one. In a footnote, the court also held it was error under section 90.706 to allow plaintiff's counsel to recite the contents of an e-cigarette study during cross-examination of defendants' expert absent recognition or a judicial finding of authoritativeness.
Key facts
- R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. appealed a $42.5 million verdict in an Engle-progeny tobacco case where the trial court denied the defendants' for-cause challenge to a prospective juror who stated she would expect defendants to prove the decedent was not addicted, despite being instructed they bore no such burden.
- The prospective juror initially expressed she would hold defendants to proving an element outside their burden, then gave an equivocal 'case-by-case' response when pressed about her impartiality, but the trial court seated her anyway.
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Why it matters
This is a useful civil-side application of Matarranz: it confirms that the 'reasonable doubt as to impartiality' standard and the rule against judicial rehabilitation apply with full force in civil trials, and that… — full analysis with a trial
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