Izzarelli v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

United States District Court for the District of Connecticut · Torts

TortsProducts LiabilityStrict LiabilityNegligenceEvidenceJury InstructionsPunitive Damagesdefective design

Facts

Izzarelli smoked Salem King cigarettes for more than twenty-five years, beginning as a young teenager, and later developed laryngeal cancer at age 36. She introduced evidence that R.J. Reynolds manipulated Salem Kings through menthol, additives, tobacco blends, sugar, ammonia, and nicotine-yield design to enhance addictiveness and maintain tar levels higher than necessary, causing smokers to consume more cigarettes and receive more carcinogens. During the years she smoked, Salem Kings were designed to deliver about 1.3 mg of nicotine and 15-19 mg of tar, although R.J. Reynolds had the capability to reduce tar drastically. Izzarelli smoked two to three packs per day, and the evidence showed smoking-related laryngeal cancer is dose-related.

Issue

Whether the trial evidence was legally sufficient to support the jury's verdict that Salem Kings were defective and unreasonably dangerous under Connecticut product liability law and that their design proximately caused Izzarelli's injuries. Also, whether the court's evidentiary rulings and jury instructions warranted a new trial.

Rule

Under the Connecticut Product Liability Act, a strict liability plaintiff must prove that the defendant sold the product, the product was in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the consumer, the defect caused the injury, the defect existed at the time of sale, and the product reached the consumer without substantial change; the plaintiff need not identify a specific defect, but may prove some unspecified dangerous condition. A product may be found unreasonably dangerous under either the ordinary consumer expectation test or, for complex product designs, the modified consumer expectation test balancing utility against risk, and evidentiary exclusions are proper where proposed alternative-cause testimony is speculative and not reliably tied to general or specific causation.

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One of 10 multiple-choice questions for this case. Pick an answer to see why.

In Hartford, Nova Leaf Labs sells an inhaled herbal vapor cartridge called BreezeMint. Evidence at trial shows the company calibrated the cartridge to deliver an addictive stimulant in a faster-absorbing form while keeping toxic condensate levels higher than necessary, but the plaintiff cannot identify one single ingredient as the sole defect.

Under Connecticut product liability law as applied by the majority opinion, which is the best argument that the plaintiff has presented sufficient evidence of a defective condition?

Explanation. The majority opinion states that under Connecticut strict liability, the plaintiff need not prove a specific defect; evidence of some unspecified dangerous condition is enough. Where the evidence permits a jury to find the product was deliberately designed to heighten addictiveness and unnecessary toxic exposure, that satisfies the defect requirement. (Derived from Izzarelli v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. (n.d.).)