R.J. Reynolds faces civil trial in smoker's death

In this story:

• Lawsuit seeks punitive damages
• First case after Liggett confession
• Related stories and sites

From Correspondent Robert Vito

JACKSONVILLE, Florida (CNN) -- Tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds goes on trial Monday in the first lawsuit filed against a tobacco company alleging conspiracy and seeking punitive damages.

Norwood "Woody" Wilner -- something of a knight in shining armor to anti-smoking activists -- represents the estate of Jean Connor, who sued RJR, claiming the company should have warned her of the dangers of smoking. Connor, who learned she had lung cancer two months after she quit smoking, died in October 1995.

Wilner represents about 500 other smokers with health claims, and has already won big against a tobacco giant once in court. His client Grady Carter, a lifetime smoker who contracted lung cancer, was awarded $750,000 in damages last August from the Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corp.

It is the largest award ever against a cigarette company -- but can Wilner do it again? RJR says his victory in that first case was a fluke.

"I think that the Carter case was an aberration," said Chuck Blixt, an attorney for RJR. "It was something outside the mainstream and I don't think it's going to happen again." (145K/7 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

In the case against RJR, the family of Jean Connor wants the court to make the tobacco firm pay for her death.

"I think why she wanted the lawsuit pursued is because the people that got on cigarettes when she was a teenager weren't being told the truth about cigarettes," said Dana Raulerson, Connor's sister.

A few months before her death, Jean Connor was questioned for the case by an attorney representing R.J. Reynolds. Under questioning, Connor said she never made an attempt to quit smoking, and said she began smoking at 15 "because all the kids did."

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In an interview before her death, Conner admitted that she never tried to quit... (247K/11 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

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The RJR trial will be the first in which the Liggett Tobacco Co.'s dramatic confession that cigarettes cause cancer and are addictive is expected to be used against its larger, richer rival. Liggett and others are accused of being co- conspirators in the Jean Connor case.

Wilner said that Liggett's confession is an important issue.

"I think that Liggett has confessed and all members of the cigarette industry are on notice that after that confession there will be released a series of documents that will prove what the industry has done for years," the attorney said.

But RJR attorneys say Liggett's confession has no bearing on the case at hand.

"There's nothing of substance in the Liggett settlement that's going to be introduced into evidence that's going to have any effect I believe on any juror's mind," said Blixt.

What apparently made the difference for jurors in the Carter case were internal documents saying Brown and Williamson knew nicotine was addictive but sold it anyway.

Shortly before her death, Jean Connor asked her sister Dana to pursue the lawsuit. Dana agreed because she says it's the best way to bring tobacco companies to justice. And she has another reason -- Dana Raulerson is also a smoker.

Plaintiff's lawyers will be watching this case very carefully. If the tobacco companies lose, it's likely to mean open season on the tobacco industry in courts all across the country.

Related stories:

• Liggett Tobacco settles with California - April 3, 1997
• CNNfn: Liggett settles with 22 states - March 20, 1997

Related site:

• Tobacco BBS - News and Resources

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