Stanley and Susan Rosenblatt Topple Big Tobacco in a Landmark Case
The story of Engle v. Liggett Group, Inc. is one of persistence, strategy, and ultimately, a sweeping reckoning against one of the most powerful industries in American history.
It began not with corporations, but with ordinary people—smokers and their families—who believed they had been misled. At the center of their fight stood a determined legal team led by Stanley Rosenblatt and Susan Rosenblatt, attorneys who would spend years building a case that many thought was unwinnable. Facing them were the titans of Big Tobacco—companies like Liggett Group, Philip Morris, and R.J. Reynolds—armed with vast resources and elite defense counsel, including attorneys from firms such as Jones Day and Shook Hardy & Bacon.
The case was assigned to Robert Kaye, a Florida circuit court judge who would oversee one of the most consequential civil trials of its era. What unfolded in his courtroom was not just a lawsuit—it was a full-scale examination of decades of corporate conduct.
The plaintiffs’ theory was bold: tobacco companies had long known about the addictive nature of nicotine and the deadly consequences of smoking, yet systematically concealed those truths from the public. Through internal documents, expert testimony, and relentless advocacy, the Rosenblatts and their team painted a picture of calculated deception. They framed their clients not as careless consumers, but as victims of a sophisticated campaign designed to hook them and keep them smoking.
The defense pushed back hard. The tobacco companies argued that the risks of smoking were widely known, that individuals made their own choices, and that responsibility could not be shifted entirely onto the manufacturers. Their attorneys challenged the plaintiffs’ science, their class certification, and the very premise of collective liability. It was a clash not only of facts, but of narratives—personal responsibility versus corporate accountability.
As the trial progressed, momentum began to shift. The plaintiffs’ evidence struck a chord. Jurors were confronted with internal memos, marketing strategies, and testimony that suggested a long-standing effort to obscure the truth. What had once seemed like an uphill battle began to look like a moral crusade.
When the jury finally returned its verdict in 2000, it was nothing short of historic. They awarded approximately $145 billion in punitive damages, in addition to earlier findings of liability and compensatory damages. It was, at the time, the largest civil verdict in U.S. history.
For the plaintiffs and their counsel, it was a moment of vindication. After years of litigation, they had not only prevailed—they had fundamentally changed the landscape of tobacco litigation. The verdict sent a powerful message: even the most entrenched industries could be held accountable when the truth was brought to light.
Though the punitive damages award was later decertified on appeal, the legacy of the Engle case endured. The Florida Supreme Court allowed former class members to file individual lawsuits—what became known as “Engle progeny” cases—while preserving key liability findings from the original trial. This gave thousands of plaintiffs a critical advantage and led to billions of dollars in subsequent verdicts and settlements.
In that sense, the true victory was not just the headline-grabbing number. It was the door the case opened. The Rosenblatts and their team had created a blueprint—one that empowered individuals to stand up against corporate giants with a newfound sense of possibility.
At its core, Engle was a story about accountability. The plaintiffs, once dismissed as individuals who had simply made bad choices, were recast as victims of a decades-long scheme. And their lawyers, through persistence and strategic brilliance, transformed a seemingly impossible case into a landmark moment in American legal history. Against overwhelming odds, they forced an industry to answer for its actions—and in doing so, became the architects of one of the most consequential verdicts ever rendered.