[Download] "Cruz-Vargas V. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company" by United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit # Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Cruz-Vargas V. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
- Author : United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
- Release Date : January 28, 2003
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 77 KB
Description
Appellants are the widow and two sons of Luis Figueroa Serrano, a longtime heavy smoker who collapsed and died suddenly after several years of suffering from hypertension. *fn1 They brought this diversity action against appellee R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, invoking Puerto Rico tort law and alleging that the cigarette manufacturer was responsible for Figueroa Serrano's death. The district court granted summary judgment on most of appellants' claims, allowing only the sons' failure-to-warn claims arising prior to July 1, 1969 to go to the jury. After the jury ruled in favor of the sons, the court granted judgment as a matter of law for Reynolds, concluding that, based on the evidence at trial, the jury was compelled to find that the risks of cigarette smoking were commonly known during the relevant time period. On appeal, the sons challenge the judgment as a matter of law. All three appellants challenge the summary judgment ruling to the extent that it found all post-1969 failure-to-warn claims preempted by federal legislation. Irene Cruz Vargas also challenges the court's ruling that the statute of limitations barred her claims. We affirm both of the district court's rulings on the basis of common knowledge, making it unnecessary to reach appellants' other arguments.