NEW ORLEANS – A Louisiana man says the tobacco company that made his mother’s cigarettes is liable for her illness and eventual death.
Richard Hobbs Barker IV, individually and on behalf of the estate of Barbara Norman, filed a lawsuit Nov. 5 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., individually and as successor by merger to the Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corp., Lorillard Tobacco Co. and the American Tobacco Co.; Philip Morris USA Inc. and Liggett & Myers Tobacco Co., citing wrongful death, breach of implied warranty and product liability.
According to the complaint, Norman was addicted to cigarettes containing nicotine, and as a result developed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary heart disease and other cardiovascular diseases that led to her premature death on Nov. 5, 2014.
Hobbs seeks a jury trial and compensatory and punitive damages to be proven at trial, plus interest and litigation costs. Hobbs, an attorney practicing in New Orleans, is representing himself.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Case number 2:15-cv-05749