A Miami judge ruled yesterday that airline flight attendants could sue leading tobacco companies for smoking-related problems, permitting the first class-action suit to address the health consequences of cigarette smoke on nonsmokers.
Judge Robert P. Kaye of the Circuit Court for Dade County ruled that a so-called passive-smoking suit brought in 1991 by 25 nonsmoking former flight attendants of various airlines against the Philip Morris Cos. and seven other cigarette makers could proceed as a class action in Dade County court.
Second-hand smoke as a cause of illness has never before been accepted as the ground for a class-action lawsuit. The flight attendants' lawyer, Stanley M. Rosenblatt, said that plaintiffs would seek damages of more than $1 billion and that as many as 60,000 current and former flight attendants could be party.
"This is a tremendous step in terms of protecting those in the airline industry," said Sherri D. Watson, legislative representative of the American Lung Association, "and it is a significant step in protecting the rights and needs of nonsmokers."
But the tobacco companies "think the decision is wrong and it will be overturned on appeal," said Charles R. Wall, associate general counsel for Philip Morris. "We are considering asking the Florida Court of Appeals to send the case to the Florida Supreme Court."
Although the class-action suit for second-hand smoke is separate from several class actions involving addicted smokers, yesterday's action by the judge reinforces the concern of some on Wall Street that the tobacco companies could ultimately face rising legal liabilities and tougher government regulation.
The plaintiffs are 23 current and former flight attendants and two survivors of deceased flight attendants who were employed by airlines based in the United States.
Judge Kaye had rejected the attendants' request to proceed as a group in 1992, but was overruled by the Florida state appellate court last March. That court did not allow the lawsuit, but instead required Judge Kaye to hear the evidence for and against class certification again, which he did Nov. 22. The judge reserved his opinion until yesterday, when he ruled for the attendants.
Mr. Rosenblatt, a Miami trial lawyer, was pleased by the judge's decision. "American tobacco companies have lied for the past 40 years about the effects of active smoking," he said, "and this case will enable us to expose that they are using precisely the same line of attack in minimizing the dangers and health hazards of passive smoking."
The tobacco companies contend that second-hand smoke has not been proved to cause any illness. Health advocates, as well as surgeons general since 1986, have contended that the mere exposure to smoke from others can lead to cancer, emphysema and other diseases.
The Environmental Protection Agency declared last year that environmental tobacco smoke was a cause of cancer, responsible for as many as 3,000 deaths a year.
In his ruling, Judge Kaye certified as a class "all nonsmoking flight attendants who are or have been employed by airlines based in the United States and are suffering from diseases and disorders caused by their exposure to second-hand cigarette smoke in airline cabins."