With a vote of 2-1, the Kentucky Court of Appeals has rejected Wanda McGuire’s bid for a new trial seeking compensation for the 2011 death of her husband, William McGuire. Mrs. McGuire claims that her husband contracted mesothelioma from smoking asbestos-filtered Original Kent cigarettes that were given to him by his employer, Lorillard Tobacco, in the ’50s.
Mrs. McGuire’s attempt to receive a new trial came as a result of erroneous information being given to jurors, who were told that Mr. McGuire had been exposed to asbestos for two years, rather than three years. This became a point of contention, as indicated by the lone dissenting vote, which was cast by Judge Joy A. Moore, who stated, “I believe it is reasonably possible that the jurors could have believed [Mr. McGuire] was exposed to asbestos as a result of smoking Original Kent cigarettes from August 1953 to August 1954,” she said, referring to the third year and its omission. Moore was of the opinion that the extra time could influence the jurors’ decision. However, the two other judges, Laurence B. VanMeter and James H. Lambert, decided that any error was irrelevant once the jury ruled in favor of Lorillard Tobacco.
“It is not reasonable to believe that the jury’s consideration of three years of smoking Original Kent cigarettes, from August 1953 to 1956, as opposed to two years, August 1954 to 1956, as instructed, would have affected the verdict with respect to Lorillard,” wrote VanMeter on behalf of the two judges.
Ultimately, although she cast a vote in favor of a new trial, Judge Moore did not believe that the company should be held responsible for Mr. McGuire’s mesothelioma. “Lorillard gave [Mr. McGuire] Original Kent cigarettes and allowed him to smoke them while working,” she said, adding, “it did not pay him to smoke.” This manner of reasoning leads to the conclusion that, because Mr. McGuire wasn’t paid to smoke, his contracting the disease had no relationship to his job.