ST. LOUIS — A Missouri man has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, alleging the company’s cigarettes caused his mother’s fatal lung cancer after decades of addiction that began in her teenage years.
Donald S. Abbey II claims the tobacco company is responsible for the 2023 death of his mother, Cynthia Penn Trauernicht, who died at age 69 from metastatic lung cancer, according to the petition filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.
The lawsuit alleges that long-term cigarette smoking, including products manufactured and sold by R.J. Reynolds and its predecessor, Lorillard Tobacco Company, was a direct and substantial contributing factor in her illness and death.
The complaint states that Trauernicht began smoking as a teenager and continued daily for more than 50 years.
During her youth, she regularly smoked Kent cigarettes, which were manufactured by Lorillard, often obtaining them from her mother.
The filing notes that this early exposure to nicotine occurred before July 1, 1969. Over her lifetime, she also smoked other brands, including Old Gold, Winston and Newport, all associated with the defendant or its predecessor.
The lawsuit alleges that as a result of prolonged nicotine exposure, Trauernicht became addicted and was unable to quit despite multiple attempts.
It further claims that the tobacco companies designed cigarettes with nicotine levels sufficient to create and sustain addiction, while failing to adequately warn consumers, particularly before 1969, about the risks of lung cancer and the addictive nature of nicotine.
In late 2022, Trauernicht was diagnosed with a large mass in the upper lobe of her right lung. The petition states she underwent brain surgery in December 2022 to remove a metastatic tumor and pathology confirmed the cancer had originated in her lungs.
Subsequent imaging revealed Stage IV metastatic lung cancer that had spread to her brain, lymph nodes and bones.
She experienced progressive neurological and systemic decline before her death on Feb. 22, 2023, which the lawsuit attributes directly to the disease.
Abbey’s filing contends that R.J. Reynolds and Lorillard knew for decades that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer and that nicotine is addictive, particularly when use begins during adolescence.
Despite this knowledge, the lawsuit alleges the companies publicly denied or minimized those risks and represented that smoking had not been proven to cause lung cancer while also denying nicotine’s addictive properties.
The complaint further asserts that Trauernicht relied on those public representations and omissions regarding the safety of cigarettes.
It claims that had adequate warnings been provided, she either would not have started smoking or would have quit earlier.
The lawsuit alleges that the cigarettes were defectively designed and unreasonably dangerous when used as intended, and that the defendant breached its duty to exercise reasonable care in the design, manufacture and sale of its products.
The lawsuit claims the company’s actions were wrongful conduct under Missouri law, including failure to warn and misrepresentation.
Abbey, identified in the filing as Trauernicht’s adult son and sole heir, is seeking compensatory damages for losses including companionship, guidance, services and financial support. The petition also seeks punitive damages, alleging the company’s conduct demonstrated willful, wanton and reckless disregard for consumer safety.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri case number: 4:26-cv-00260
