R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Stidham

This case is another attempt by plaintiffs with lung cancer to join in one action claims against both asbestos and tobacco defendants on the premise that their cancers arose from exposure to the products of both sets of defendants — that the cancers were caused by both smoking cigarettes and exposure to asbestos. As it had done before in other cases, the Circuit Court for Baltimore City refused to permit the joinder of the *500two sets of defendants on the special asbestos docket maintained by the court.

The issues in this appeal are largely procedural ones: whether there is a final judgment in…