Flight Attendant-ETS (Broin II) Cases

In 1997, the major cigarette manufacturers settled the Broin v. Philip Morris Inc. flight attendant class action in Florida. Among other things, this settlement stipulated that flight attendants could sue the tobacco companies as individuals. These cases are collectively referred to as Broin II cases.

More than 3,200 lawsuits (approximately 2,649 of which are pending) have been brought by individual flight attendants for personal injury as a result of illness allegedly caused by exposure to secondhand smoke in airplane cabins. These cases require each individual flight attendant to prove that he or she has a disease, and that exposure to secondhand smoke in airplane cabins caused the disease. Under the settlement terms in the original Broin case, punitive damages are not available in Broin II cases.

Eight Broin II cases have gone to trial since 2001. Juries have ruled in favor of the tobacco industry in six of those cases and against the industry in one case. Another case, Queipo, ended in a mistrial in May 2002 and was subsequently dismissed.

Our Viewpoint

• We remain confident that we can continue to successfully defend Broin II cases, based on the strength of our defenses and the weaknesses of plaintiffs' claims.

For more information, review Broin II cases tried since 1999.