Stidham v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

In Gress v. ACandS, Inc., 150 Md.App. 369, 387-89, 820 A.2d 616 (2003), this Court held that a circuit court erred in refusing to permit the joinder of wrongful death claims against asbestos defendants with wrongful death claims against tobacco defendants, where the plaintiffs alleged that their decedent’s death had resulted from the synergistic effect of exposure to asbestos fibers and tobacco smoke.

The Gress Court recognized that the circuit court had not entered a final, appealable judgment in that case, because it had not adjudicated the claims against the asbestos defendants and had…