Chacon v. Philip Morris USA, Inc.

254 So. 3d 1172
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedSeptember 12, 2018
DocketNo. 3D16-2330
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 254 So. 3d 1172 (Chacon v. Philip Morris USA, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chacon v. Philip Morris USA, Inc., 254 So. 3d 1172 (Fla. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

SUAREZ, J.

Elsa Chacon ("Chacon"), as the Personal Representative of the Estate of her husband Robiel Chacon, brought a wrongful death action against Philip Morris.1 Chacon brings this appeal from an adverse final judgment in favor of Philip Morris. This appeal presents a legal issue of first impression for the Engle line of tobacco cases, which issue is the proper interpretation of the phrase "[a]ll Florida citizens and residents" as used in R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Engle, 672 So.2d 39, 40 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996) (hereinafter " Engle I"), to initially define the members of the Engle class.

In her Complaint below, Chacon alleged Mr. Chacon qualified as an Engle class member as defined in Engle v. Liggett Group, Inc., 945 So.2d 1246, 1256 (Fla. 2006) (hereinafter " Engle III") (citing Engle I, 672 So.2d at 40, 42 ) and that as such, Philip Morris was responsible for his death under multiple theories of liability.2 Philip *1174Morris argued Mr. Chacon did not qualify as an Engle class member and therefore the suit could not be maintained. The dispositive issue at trial, and here on appeal, is whether to initially qualify as an Engle class member Chacon was required to prove that Mr. Chacon was both a citizen and a resident of Florida at the time his smoking-related disease was manifested or diagnosed, or was only required to prove that Mr. Chacon was either a citizen of Florida or a resident of Florida at the relevant time.

We hold that, in order to initially qualify as an Engle class member, a plaintiff must prove that the deceased was either a citizen of Florida or a resident of Florida at the time of manifestation or diagnosis. We therefore reverse and remand for a new trial, finding the trial court erred by instructing the jury that, as an initial requirement to qualify as a member of the Engle class, Chacon was required to prove that Robiel Chacon was both a citizen and a resident of Florida. Additionally, we affirm on Philip Morris's cross-appeal as we find the trial court gave the correct jury instructions defining the terms "citizen" and "resident."

The main issue in this appeal, which was hotly contested below, is the question of the proper interpretation of the initial phrase in the definition of Engle class membership. The Engle class is defined as: "[a]ll Florida citizens and residents, and their survivors, who have suffered, presently suffer or have died from diseases and medical conditions caused by their addiction to cigarettes that contain nicotine." Engle I, 672 So.2d at 42. Philip Morris contended at trial and now on appeal that this language required Chacon to initially prove that Mr. Chacon was both a citizen and a resident of Florida. Chacon argues that the phrase "all Florida citizens and residents" required her to only prove that Mr. Chacon was either a citizen or resident of Florida. At the charge conference, the trial court denied Chacon's renewed request to provide the jury with the either/or wording (either a citizen or a resident), and over Chacon's objection the trial court accepted Philip Morris's proposed jury instruction requiring Chacon to prove that the deceased was both a Florida citizen and a Florida resident as an initial requirement for Engle class membership.3 The trial court also instructed the jury on the meaning of the term "citizen" and the term "resident," and gave the jury a list of factors it could consider in determining whether Mr. Chacon met the definition of a "citizen" and the definition of a "resident" of Florida. Consequently, in answer to the verdict form question, "[w]as Robiel Chacon a citizen and resident of Florida when his lung cancer was diagnosed on June 3, 1994, or when his lung cancer first manifested," the jury answered "no." By answering in the negative, the jury concluded that the deceased was not both a Florida citizen and a Florida resident, and *1175thus the jury did not proceed further to consider any of the remaining Engle class membership requirements, i.e., when the disease manifested or was diagnosed, and whether that manifestation or diagnosis occurred prior to the Engle class membership cutoff date of November 21, 1996.4

Generally, a trial court's rulings on jury instructions are reviewed for abuse of discretion. See St. Paul Mercury Ins. Co. v. Coconut Grove Bank, 106 So.3d 452 (Fla. 3d DCA 2009). Where, however, as here, the analysis turns on a pure question of law, our standard of review is de novo. See Bosem v. Musa Holdings, Inc., 46 So.3d 42, 44 (Fla. 2010) (stating that pure issues of law are reviewed de novo); Philip J. Padovano, Florida Appellate Practice § 19:2 at 358 n. 5 (2013 ed.).

The language in Engle"all Florida citizens and residents" is the preamble to the actual qualifications for class membership. See Engle III, 945 So.2d at 1274 ; Engle I, 672 So.2d at 42. No case in Florida has specifically addressed the singular issue presented here, whether the "all [Florida] citizens and residents, and their survivors" language of Engle must be interpreted to require a plaintiff to prove that the deceased was both a citizen and a resident of Florida at the pertinent time, or be interpreted to require a plaintiff to prove only that the deceased was either a citizen of Florida or a resident of Florida at the pertinent time. Based on our analysis, we find that the proper interpretation requires a plaintiff to prove only that the deceased was either a citizen of Florida or a resident of Florida at the time the smoking-related disease manifested or was diagnosed.5

Our analysis of the phrase "all Florida citizens and residents" turns on the use of the single word "and" in that phrase. Authorities agree that the word "and" can be used in the several sense (A and B, jointly or severally) or in the joint sense (A and B, jointly but not severally).6 If it is used in the several sense, as argued by Chacon, then it must be proven that the deceased was either a citizen of Florida or a resident of Florida at the time his disease manifested or was diagnosed. If used in the joint sense, as argued by Philip Morris, then it must be proven that the deceased was both a citizen of Florida and

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
254 So. 3d 1172, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chacon-v-philip-morris-usa-inc-fladistctapp-2018.