More Than 100,000 Cases to Be Filed in Florida Following

Tobacco Conspiracy Ruling

Leading South Florida Law Firm Searcy Denny Reacts to Tobacco Ruling

PALM BEACH, Fla., Aug. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- A U.S. District judge yesterday ruled that the United States' top cigarette makers conspired for decades to mislead the public about the health hazards and addictive nature of smoking. That decision mirrors findings recently affirmed by Florida's Supreme Court that Big Tobacco has been conspiring for years to mislead consumers and that its products are both cancer causing and defective.

It appears that a groundswell of legal precedent is mounting to finally put addicted cigarette smoking victims on an even playing field with billion dollar tobacco companies. It is expected that the Florida Supreme Court's recent ruling will result in as many as 100,000 individual smokers lawsuits being filed in Florida. The law firm of Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley (Searcy Denney, West Palm Beach) will be filing hundreds if not thousands of the smokers' suits.

Cal Warriner, a partner at Searcy Denney says the Chicago Federal Judge's recent ruling will force big tobacco to "publicly humiliate themselves by directly contradicting sworn testimony given by their CEO's before Congress just a few years ago. It is about time for Big Tobacco to fess up. Courts are finally holding tobacco companies liable for killing hundreds of thousands of Americans." Warriner is leading the effort to hold cigarette makers accountable for their actions in Florida.

The ruling found Philip Morris, RJ Reynolds, Brown & Williamson, British American Tobacco and Lorillard Tobacco guilty of misleading the public about the harmful consequences of smoking to human health.

WHO: Cal Warriner of the law firm of Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart &

Shipley.

WHAT: Expects more than 100,000 cases to be filed in Florida courts. SOURCE Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley

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