News and Press
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News
J.B. Harris Recent Victories
Legal team helped longtime smoker win $27 million award
Cottondale Man Awarded Nearly 30 Million in Tobacco Suit
Harris Wins Florida Bar Journal’s Prestigious Writing Award
The Florida Bar News
August 1, 2010
J.B. Harris was selected by The Florida Bar Journal Editorial Board as the 2009 recipient of the Excellence in Writing award for his article, “Riding the Red Rocket: Amendment 7 and the End to Discovery Immunity of Adverse Medical Incidents in the State of Florida,” which appeared in the March 2009 issue...
Full article on the Florida Bar website
J.B. Harris featured in Miami Herald/Daily Business Review special feature on Personal Injury Litigators 2009
July 17, 2009
Click here to view PDF.
Investigating possible litigation against fraudulent credit counseling services that charge large fees but do very little
May 27, 2009
We are investigating possible litigation against fraudulent credit counseling services that charge large fees but do very little. Two principal companies in the field are Nationwide Asset Services and Credit Solutions of America. Credit Solutions, for example, signed up 18,000 customers in New York, charged them $17 million in fees and settled debts of fewer than 2,000. Nationwide signed up 2,000 New York residents and concluded transactions for 64, of whom 27 paid more than they originally owed because of Nationwide’s fees. The New York AG has filed suit to enjoin the fraudulent practices. If you have been a victim of this type of fraud or need additional information, please contact J.B. Harris at 305-374-6360 or jb@jbharris.com.
DC Circuit affirms Phillip Morris case giving major victory for plaintiffs in tobacco suits nationwide
May 27, 2009
J.B. Harris [Managing Partner, The Law Offices of J.B. Harris, P.A.]: "On May 22, 2009, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed in large part one of the most damning verdicts ever rendered against the tobacco industry. US v. Philip Morris USA Inc., et. al. [PDF file]. Upholding the liability findings of District Court Judge Gladys Kessler, set forth in her massive 1600 page opinion, the appeals court affirmed that Philip Morris USA, Inc., R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Lorillard Tobacco Company, The Liggett Group, Inc., and others had violated certain sections of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO)...
Full article on the Jurist website
Riding the Red Rocket: Amendment 7 and the End to Discovery Immunity of Adverse Medical Incidents in the State of Florida
by J.B. Harris
The Florida Bar Journal
Vol 83, No. 3
Originally posted March 2009
On November 2, 2004, voters in Florida overwhelmingly approved Amendment 7. Known as the “Patients’ Right-to-Know About Adverse Medical Incidents,” Amendment 7 represents one of the most sweeping changes in law and public policy ever adopted in this state. In one fell swoop the amendment has successfully breached the walls of privilege and immunity surrounding secret peer review, credentialing, investigations, quality assurance, and risk assessments of both health care providers’ and health care facilities’ adverse medical incidents by paving the way for discovery of testimonial and documentary evidence relating to these activities. Adoption of the amendment has even lifted the spirits of medical malpractice lawyers in Florida, and the injured patients they represent, by enshrining in the Florida Constitution a virtual patient’s Bill of Rights, while “lift[ing] the shroud of privilege and confidentiality” that has swaddled the health care industry for years...
Full article in PDF format
Full article on the Florida Bar website
Tobacco politics
http://www.floridatoday.com
Originally posted 4/30/2009
"Meanwhile, the Florida Legislature may soon OK a bill by Sen. Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, that would make it cheaper for cigarette makers to avoid settlements and delay paying jury verdicts.
Haridopolos said the bill would preserve revenue from the state's own tobacco settlement by removing a threat to manufacturers' solvency"...
Full article with quotes from JB Harris
Pharmacy admits it incorrectly mixed supplement linked to deaths of 21 Wellington polo ponies
http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com
Originally posted 4/23/2009
A top official of an Ocala-based pharmacy today admitted that it incorrectly mixed a medication that was given to 21 horses that mysteriously collapsed and died last weekend... Full article with quotes from JB Harris
Tobacco Bond Bill
Originally posted 4/15/2009
How Big Tobacco targeted Black America for death
http://www.flcourier.com
Originally posted 8/24/2007
As early as 1954, Philip Morris commissioned a study entitled Progress Report on Negro Market Study that found, “Negroes have been downtrodden economically and socially for so long they consciously, or otherwise, want to impress people with the fact that they have taste and are discriminating – that they are dignified and sophisticated. And one of the easiest ways to do it is to align themselves with a cigarette pack – something they show everywhere – that is quiet and tasteful and rich-looking...”
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Upcoming Conference:
Their Day in Court: How to try and win tobacco cases following the Florida Supreme Court's Engle decision
On February 8th and 9th, 2007, the Tobacco Products Liability Project presented a special two-day conference to help Florida trial lawyers try and win individual smoker’s cases in Florida.
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Blog Posting:
New suit filed against tobacco firms
http://eviltobacco.com
Originally posted 6/8/2007
A Miami lawyer leveled a billion-dollar lawsuit against U.S. tobacco giants Thursday, alleging that their targeting of black smokers led to the death of his client’s mother and grandmother.
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Suit Claims Tobacco Companies Targeted Black Smokers, Seeks $1 Billion in Damages
http://www.browardtimes.com
Originally posted 6/8/2007
A Coral Gables attorney today filed suit against several tobacco companies, accusing them of targeting black consumers.
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Big Tobacco's Racial Profiling Challenged in Court
http://www.tobacco.org
Originally posted 6/8/2007
On June 7, Miami attorney J.B. Harris filed a lawsuit on Tucker's behalf. The suit seeks $1 billion in punitive damages collectively from Philip Morris USA, Lorillard Tobacco, R.J. Reynolds, and Liggett Group.
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Big Tobacco's Racial Profiling Challenged in Court
http://www.prwatch.org
Originally posted 6/8/2007
Gloria Tucker's mother and grandmother both smoked cigarettes. Both died from smoking-related health problems. An African American woman, Tucker believes that her loved ones' deaths were due to "racial profiling" by big tobacco companies. And she's got the documents to prove it.
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Tobacco marketed to blacks: A lawsuit seeks more than $1-billion in damages
St. Petersburg Times
Originally posted 6/7/2007
Tobacco companies targeted African-Americans with sophisticated marketing aimed at getting them hooked on cigarettes and eventually killing them, says a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Miami-Dade Circuit Court.
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Suit Accuses Tobacco Firms of Targeting Black Consumers, Seeks $1 Billion in Damages
http://www.shashum.com.ar
Originally posted 6/7/2007
Accusing tobacco companies of preying on black people, a Miami attorney is seeking $1 billion in damages on behalf of a Florida woman whose mother and grandmother died of smoking-related health problems. The suit, which flows from the massive Engle litigation, cites marketing documents that made disparaging generalizations about African-Americans and suggested working through black churches and youth events to recruit smokers. "If I could, I'd try to have them charged with genocide," said solo J.B. Harris.
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Tobacco Marketed to Blacks, lawsuit claims
http://www.sptimes.com
Original posting 6/7/2007
Tobacco companies targeted African-Americans with sophisticated marketing aimed at getting them hooked on cigarettes and eventually killing them, says a lawsuit filed Wednesday [June 6] in Miami-Dade Circuit Court.
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Blog posting:
Suit Accuses Tobacco Firms of Targeting Black Consumers, Seeks $1 Billion in Damages
http://www.lawyr.org
Originally posted 6/6/2007
Accusing tobacco companies of preying on black people, a Miami attorney is seeking $1 billion in damages on behalf of a Florida woman whose mother and grandmother died of smoking-related health problems.
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Billion-Dollar Lawsuit Accuses Big Tobacco of Targeting Blacks
http://www.jointogether.org
Originally posted 6/6/2007
A Florida woman has filed a $1-billion lawsuit against four major tobacco companies, saying the firms negligently and fraudulently targeted blacks with their products.
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Suit Accuses Tobacco Firms of Targeting Black Consumers, Seeks $1 Billion in Damages
Daily Business Review
Originally posted 6/6/2007
Accusing tobacco companies of preying on black people, a Miami attorney is seeking $1 billion in damages on behalf of a Coral Springs, Fla., woman whose mother and grandmother both died of smoking-related health problems.
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Is smoking and the big “C” in your family? If so, you may qualify to join a suit against Big Tobacco!
by Reeder Rose
Westside Gazette
Originally posted 5/16/2007
Attorney JB Harris said, “All issues of liability, including the negative effects of smoking, and the fact the tobacco companies deceptively failed to warn smokers of the dangers of using their products, have been established as a matter of law.”
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Tobacco Use Among U.S. Racial/Ethnic Minority Groups
A Report of the Surgeon General 1998
“Cigarette smoking is a major cause of disease and death in each of the four population groups studied in this report. African Americans currently bear the greatest health burden. Differences in the magnitude of disease risk are directly related to differences in patterns of smoking.”
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“Among adolescents, cigarette smoking prevalence increased in the 1990s among African Americans and Hispanics …This increase is particularly striking among African American youths…”
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CDC’s Tobacco Information and Prevention Source (TIPS)
Tobacco Industry Influence
“Tobacco products are advertised and promoted disproportionately to racial/ethnic minority communities. Examples of target promotions include the introduction of a cigarette product with the brand name “Rio” and an earlier cigarette product named “Dorado,” which was advertised and marketed to the Hispanic American community.”
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“Tobacco Industry Studies have found a higher density of tobacco billboards in racial/ethnic minority communities. For example, a 1993 study in San Diego, California, found the highest proportion of tobacco billboards were posted in Asian American communities and the lowest proportion were in white communities.”
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“A one-year study found that three major African American publications — Ebony, Jet, and Essence — received proportionately higher profits from cigarette advertisements than did other magazines.”
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“The tobacco industry commonly uses cultural symbols and designs to target racial/ethnic populations that include American Indians and Alaska Natives. American Spirit cigarettes were promoted as “natural” cigarettes; the package featured an American Indian smoking a pipe. In addition, certain tobacco product advertisements have used visual images, such as American Indian warriors, to target their product.”
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Smoking Cessation and Ethnic Minorities: Fighting Back Against Joe Camel
Jeffrey S. Nevid, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, St. John’s University
“By 1995, nearly 35% of teenagers 17 years of age or younger were smoking, up from 27.5% in 1991. Estimates are that 3,000 young people take up smoking each day. About one in three will eventually die of smoking-related diseases….
“Economically disadvantaged ethnic minority groups have higher than average rates of smoking, especially African American men…. Cigarette companies have also targeted much of their advertising effort toward minority communities, especially African American and Hispanic communities.”
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University of Florida News
UF Study: Mistaken Beliefs About Smoking Moms Can Influence Minorities
“GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The illusion of smoking can be just as deadly as the real thing for minority inner-city girls who believe their mothers have the habit, a new University of Florida study finds. Black and Hispanic inner-city girls who think their mothers smoke — even if that is not the case — were three times more likely to have tried cigarettes than girls who know their mothers are nonsmokers, said Julia Graber, a UF psychology professor who did the research with seventh- grade girls.
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R.J. Reynolds’ Targeting of
African Americans: 1988 – 2000 American Journal of Public Health
“RJR’s strategy for targeting young adult African Americans had 2 major features. One was the reliance on the image of cigarettes as a “‘classy,’ ‘quality’ product associated with success and the ‘good life’” and an entrée into a “‘fantasy world’ that Black young adult smokers can be part of.” The other was the building of close community relationships through involvement in community-based organizations, corporate giving, and corporate image advertising.”
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“In a 1988 speech, a senior RJR marketing official noted that
‘Reynolds Tobacco has made a special effort to reach Black Smokers since the early 1960’s…”
“According to the company’s internal documents, RJR has had in place for years special marketing programs designed to reach African Americans, beginning long before Uptown and persisting after Uptown had been canceled.
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Reducing the Burden of Cancer Borne by African Americans: If Not Now, When?
“Tobacco companies target African Americans through advertising in magazines, billboards, sporting events, and other forms of entertainment.…
“The American Legacy Foundation’s National Youth Tobacco Survey reports that 24% of African-American high school students and 14% of African-American middle school students regularly use some form of tobacco,…
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Tobacco Use Among Florida’s Minority Populations
A1998 survey of Florida youth conducted by the Florida Department of Health found that:
“Overall, 24.5% of middle school and 35.5% of high school students reported using some form of tobacco in the past 30 days….
“One-third of middle school and 56% of high school students identifying themselves as American Indian or Alaskan Native reported using tobacco in the past 30 days. Tobacco use is highest in this group.”
Documents
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Department of Justice site, with links to various tobacco related matters
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One of the largest and most organized repositories of tobacco documents
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Brown & Williamson site set up as part of a 26 state Attorneys General global settlement
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Lorillard site set up as part of a 26 state Attorneys General global settlement
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Philip Morris site set up as part of a 26 state Attorneys General global settlment
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Complaint for Damages by Intervenor Gloria Tucker, Personal Representative of the Estates of Dorothy Oliver and Annie Mae Swain
View PDF - RJR Inter-office Memorandum – Cigarette Concept to Assure RJR a Larger Segment of the Youth Market
View PDF
- RJR Research Planning Memorandum on Some Thoughts About New Brands of Cigarettes for the Youth Market
View PDF
- Lorillard Research Memorandum on Youth Market
View PDF
- Lorillard Research Memorandum on Youth Market
View PDF
- Development of Cigarette Packaging
View PDF
- Phillip Morris inter-office memo regarding tobacco association announcement
View PDF
- Results of the 1970 Marketing Audits
View PDF
- Diagnosis and Causation The Engle Class Tobacco Products Liability Project Their Day in Court
View PDF
Press Releases
Miami Attorney Files Billion Dollar Lawsuit Against Tobacco Companies Alleging Racial Profiling and Racism in Marketing to African Americans
In a historic lawsuit filed today, Miami attorney J.B. Harris has sued Big Tobacco seeking $1 billion in damages on behalf of an African American woman whose mother and grandmother were killed by cigarettes. Defendants in the suit include R.J. Reynolds, Philip Morris, Lorillard, Brown & Williamson and others. The suit was filed in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court and arises from the Engle class action partially overturned by the Florida Supreme Court late last year.
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SueBigTobacco.net Launches New Web Site with Information for Individuals Injured by Cigarettes in Florida
Under a recent landmark decision issued by the Florida Supreme Court in the case of Engle v. Liggett, the law firm of J.B. Harris P.A. is suing "Big Tobacco" in Florida on behalf of individuals injured by cigarettes. For this purpose, the firm has opened a new portal, Suebigtobacco.net, with the help of PaperStreet Web Design.
