Lawsuits seeking compensation from cigarette makers for cancers and other illnesses are on the wane in much of the country, but in one state, Florida, tobacco litigation has never been hotter.

Juries have increasingly become skeptical of suits blaming smoking injuries on tobacco companies. However, plaintiffs in Florida, aided by a 2006 state Supreme Court ruling that told jurors in future cases to accept that cigarette makers had misled smokers about the dangers, have won hundreds of millions of dollars in verdict awards.