The AAJ reported today on a New York Times article that states that “Legal experts predict that thousands of tobacco lawsuits could gain momentum in Florida after a Fort Lauderdale jury ordered Philip Morris USA to pay $300 million to a former smoker who says she needs a lung transplant. If it survives an appeal, the verdict late Thursday would be the nation’s largest award of damages to an individual suing a tobacco company and could encourage thousands of plaintiffs who have filed similar cases in Florida, according to Clifford E. Douglas of the University of Michigan Tobacco Research Network.” David J. Adelman, “a tobacco analyst for Morgan Stanley, said the Florida case and, separately, forthcoming class-action lawsuits over light cigarette claims pose an ‘undeniable’ increase in the industry’s legal risk ‘which had previously declined to an unprecedented low point.’”
Repair New York Bridges Before a Tragedy
September 8, 2011
In Western New York, the Federal Highway Administration has classified 195 bridges as structurally deficient. In the Rochester-Finger Lakes Region, 214 bridges as structurally deficient. In the Southern Tier, 354 bridges classified as structurally deficient by the FHA.