Former smoker loses case against R.J. Reynolds

Former smoker loses case against R.J. Reynolds

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (October 31, 1997 12:10 p.m. EST http://www.nando.net) -- A jury decided Friday that the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. was not liable for the cancer of a former smoker who had accused it of failing to warn the public about the dangers of cigarettes.

JoAnn Karbiwnyk, 59, who said she began smoking on a dare in high school, had asked the jury to award her $200,000 in actual damages, $200,000 in future damages and enough punitive damages "to send a clear signal."

"I'm disappointed, but life goes on," she said.

The jury deliberated about eight hours, beginning Wednesday and wrapping up Friday. The trial began Oct. 6.

Karbiwnyk, a loan processor from nearby Orange Park, told the jury that she smoked for almost 30 years before quitting in 1984. In 1995, she developed uterine cancer and lung cancer, which spread to her brain. All her cancers are in remission.

The jury was asked to consider two questions: whether negligence by R.J. Reynolds was a legal cause of Karbiwnyk's cancer, and whether the Winston and Salem Light cigarettes she smoked were unreasonably dangerous and defective.

Jurors said no to both questions.

Reynolds' attorneys had argued that it couldn't be proved that its products were responsible for Karbiwnyk's cancer.

"Mrs. Karbiwnyk made a personal choice to smoke. We can't make every personal choice into a lawsuit," Reynolds' lead attorney, Ted Grossman, said after the verdict.