Las Vegas bonus

Tropicana Casino Sued Over Secondhand Smoke

A lawsuit was filed by Meiselman, Denlea, Packman, Carton and Eberz, P.C. in Superior Court for the State of New Jersey in the County of Atlantic City on behalf of plaintiffs Vincent Rennich and his wife, Lynn Rennich, against Aztar Corporation, which owns and operates the Tropicana Casino and Resort for failing to protect them from the dangers of secondhand smoke.

The complaint states that "Aztar caused and permitted an abnormally dangerous activity at the Tropicana and such activity caused Mr. Rennich to suffer lung cancer." The suit demands a trial by jury and is seeking an award of damages to be determined at trial.

Vincent Rennich has worked for a company named Adamar or New Jersey, Inc. as a casino table games supervisor at the Tropicana since 1981. He has been subjected there to constant exposure to secondhand smoke for the past 25 years. The complaint states that "Aztar has failed to provide him with any warning of the dangers of secondhand smoke or with a safe environment in which to perform his job through prophylactic measures such as proper ventilation equipment or other air cleaning devices."

Despite known risks of secondhand smoke, the complaint charges that "defendant Aztar purposefully endangers the health of casino workers because Aztar has decided it is more important to accommodate customers who want to smoke while gambling than to ensure the health and welfare of those who are lawfully on its premises providing services such as those Mr. Rennich performs for his employer, Adamar."

Secondhand smoke is now prohibited at all indoor public places and workplaces in New Jersey, pursuant to the New Jersey Smoke-Free Fair Act except for a few specific types of businesses. Casinos are one of the exceptions where smoking is still allowed. However, the Act does not contain any provisions granting immunity to casino businesses against tort liability for personal injuries caused by secondhand smoke to which they subject their business invitees.