The jury in Bronson, Fla., sided with Dianne Webb, who claimed in a wrongful-death lawsuit that the death of her father, James Cayce Horner, was caused by an addiction to smoking fueled by Reynolds' manipulation and deception, according to The Associated Press.
Chuck Burton, AP
R.J. Reynolds says it will appeal a Florida jury's decision that the company was mostly to blame for the death of a man who smoked two packs a day. The jury ordered the company to pay $80 million to the man's daughter.
Jurors on Tuesday found that the cigarette maker was 90 percent at fault in Horner's death and that Horner, said to have smoked two packs a day, was 10 percent to blame, according to The Wall Street Journal. He started smoking as a teenager and died at age 78.
The award consists of $8 million in compensatory damages and $72 million in punitive damages.
"People need to be reminded, again and again, of the true cost -- in precious human life -- that R.J. Reynolds has imposed and continues to impose on our society," said the plaintiff's lawyer, David Sales, according to the newspaper.
The company said it would fight the verdict.
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"We're disappointed with the jury's decision in the matter, and we will appeal," Reynolds spokesman David Howard said, according to Bloomberg.Webb's case was one of about 8,000 in Florida that are being tried individually after the state Supreme Court threw out a massive $145 billion class-action award to all Florida smokers in 2006.
Her verdict reverses the tobacco industry's winning streak, The Journal said, noting that tobacco companies have won verdicts in eight consecutive cases, the most recent one on Nov. 12.
Still, Florida juries have awarded $310 million to smokers and their relatives since February 2009, according to Bloomberg.