US
A Florida federal court has fined two personal injury law firms a combined US$9.16 million for pursuing 1,250 Engle progeny lawsuits against US tobacco manufacturers that were determined to be frivolous complaints.
The two law firms were The Wilner Firm and Farah & Farah, both of Jacksonville, Florida. The Engle cases came from a decision in 2006 by the Florida Supreme Court that decertified a class-action lawsuit initially filed by Howard Engle. That ruling allowed former class members to file individual lawsuits stating that cigarettes caused their respective illnesses.
A four-judge panel wrote, “While $9,164,404 is a large number, it is that large only because of the breathtaking scale of Wilner’s and Farah’s wrongdoing.” The judges also wrote, “If we did not cite Wilner and Farah for unprofessional conduct committed on such a grand scale, how could we continue to insist upon professionalism in our other cases?”
The cases filed by both law firms represented one-third of the original 3,765 Engle lawsuits from early 2011 to mid-2013. In September 2014, a federal appeals court in Florida dismissed 750 Engle cases, or nearly 10% of all Engle cases then, citing improper claim submissions by Wilner.
The court ruled that the law firms’ actions were “willful and reckless” in filing “frivolous complaints” involving plaintiffs that they either lost track of, were dead, were never smokers, never lived in Florida, were not authorized to file by the plaintiff, or the complaints were previously adjudicated.
“Monetary sanctions are necessary to impress upon Wilner and Farah, and all others who litigate in this court, that the court cannot tolerate the type of conduct they have displayed in these cases,” the judges wrote. “Non-monetary sanctions, such as a reprimand, will not suffice.”
The judges came up with the fine amount primarily by determining that each frivolous lawsuit cost about $6,983 in court resources. “Wilner’s attitude throughout the (December 2016 sanctioning) proceedings has never reflected contrition,” they wrote. “Counsel’s conduct infected the entire Engle litigation. Counsel’s actions also delayed, perhaps by years, plaintiffs with meritorious cases from having their claims heard.”