05.02.2025 23:1031 R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company против Росса Дубинса и др.

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company v. Ross Dubins, etc., et al. | Case No. 3D23-1031 | Florida Third District Court of Appeal Argued February 5, 2025 Oral argument in an Engle progeny appeal from a judgment of about $6 million. The smoker's son testified that in 1974 his mother told him it was hard to stop smoking because she had started at 14. That was the only evidence she smoked as a minor; the next evidence was a photograph of her smoking at 22. The plaintiff's addiction expert and closing argument emphasized that she began as a "little kid." Counsel for R.J. Reynolds conceded that her statement that quitting was hard was admissible under the state-of-mind exception, but argued that under the Third DCA's decision in Lipp and the Fourth DCA's decision in Hamilton the added factual explanation about when she started was a backward-looking statement of memory excluded by section 90.803(3)(b); that an expert may rely on but not relay inadmissible hearsay under section 90.704; and that the error was harmful because age of initiation went to addiction causation, reliance, and comparative fault. Douglas Heden, for the estate, argued that the statement was her contemporaneous explanation of why she could not quit and fell within Alexander, that age of initiation is not an element the plaintiff must prove, that other evidence showed she smoked well before 25, and that any error was harmless over a three-week trial. The panel discussed the line between Alexander and Hamilton. KEY ISSUES • The state-of-mind hearsay exception and statements explaining the reasons for a belief • Backward-looking statements of memory excluded under section 90.803(3)(b) • Whether an expert may relay otherwise inadmissible facts to the jury under section 90.704 • Harmless error under the Special standard in tobacco litigation • Age of smoking initiation, addiction causation, and comparative fault in Engle progeny cases LEGAL AUTHORITY • Lipp v. Philip Morris (Fla. 3d DCA) (as quoted by counsel at argument) • Hamilton (Fla. 4th DCA) (as quoted by counsel at argument) • Alexander (as quoted by counsel at argument) • Special (Fla.) (as quoted by counsel at argument) RULES & STATUTES DISCUSSED • § 90.803(3), Fla. Stat. (then-existing state of mind hearsay exception) • § 90.704, Fla. Stat. (basis of expert opinion) 🔗 Florida Rules & Legal Resources: https://www.floridarules.net #FloridaLaw #TobaccoLitigation #Engle #Hearsay #StateOfMind #ExpertTestimony #HarmlessError #ThirdDCA #OralArgument #FloridaAppeal