Joseph F. Rice, Architect of Multibillion-Dollar Tobacco Settlements, Dies at 72
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 9
Joseph F. Rice, Architect of Multibillion-Dollar Tobacco Settlements, Dies at 72
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 9
Summary
Joseph F. Rice, the South Carolina lawyer who helped states win multibillion-dollar settlements from tobacco companies and the opioid industry, died Sept. 3 in Mount Pleasant, S.C., at 72.
A representative for Motley Rice said he suffered a cardiac event while at his desk in the firm's law office.
Rice became a formidable negotiator by pressing a novel public-nuisance theory—that states and local governments were victims because they bore the costs of harms caused by corporate products.
That strategy helped reshape mass-tort litigation and broadened how corporate America can be held financially accountable for wrongdoing.