First, the case should never have been tried. Second, it should never have been litigated in the manner that Judge Kaye condoned. Third, it should have been resolved in favor of the defendants. Fourth, its consequences are malignant and highly contagious. To deserve a class-action trial, plaintiffs must have experienced similar injuries arising out of a common set of underlying facts.
Class action is quite simply preposterous.
The federal government and 25 of 27 states have rejected tobacco class-action lawsuits. Only Florida and Louisiana have allowed those suits to move forward. The Engle class should never have been certified. Exacerbating that blunder, Judge Kaye, in the face of a contrary opinion from Florida's attorney general, permitted the jury to decide punitive damages for the entire class after hearing evidence on only three of the claimants. The selected plaintiffs were not the designated class representatives.