The lawyer behind Florida's fight against Big Tobacco
April 7, 1995-West Palm Beach attorney Robert Montgomery is steering the litigation for the state of Florida against the tobacco companies. Although the tobacco companies are arguing that a law which takes away their right to use the "assumption of the risk" defense is unconstitutional, Montgomery maintains that the law should be upheld because the usual defense should not apply in this case. Montgomery commented "Florida never agreed to assume the risks of smoking, even though it has had to pay the price." This law, he said, takes away the tobacco industry's huge litigation advantage.