| VERDICT FOR THE PLAINTIFF
9-26- 02 - A Los Angeles jury has found Philip
Morris liable for the lung cancer of Betty Bullock and
awarded her $850,000 in compensatory damages.
The jury will return to consider punitive damages next
Tuesday. See our Verdict Background and
Commentary.
10-4-02 - A Los Angeles jury has issued a record
shattering $28 billion punitive damages award against
Philip Morris today in Bullock v. Philip Morris.
Betty Bullock, the "winner," is not expected
to survive to see 2003. See our Backgrounder and Commentary
on the verdict. See our updated special edition
of Tobacco on Trial focusing on this case and extraordinary
verdict.
VERDICT FOR THE PLAINTIFF
9-26- 02 - A jury in federal court in Puerto Rico
found RJR liable for $500,000 in Irene Cruz-Vargas
v R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. - US Dist.
Ct. Puerto Rico No. 00-2334]. Read
about the tobacco industry's 2 adverse jury verdicts
on the same day.
VERDICT FOR THE PLAINTIFF
6-11-02 - A Miami jury finds Philip Morris, Brown
& Williamson, and Vector (Liggett) liable for $37.5
million in an individual phase trial, Lukacs v. Philip
Morris, et al., stemming from the Engle class
action. See our Verdict Backgrounder and Commentary.
See the latest from Bloomberg.
VERDICT FOR THE DEFENDANT 5-24-02
- A Pinellas County, Florida jury today reached
a defense verdict in Tune v. Philip Morris, Inc..
Robert Tune, 76, whose smoking-caused cancer of
the throat and lung has led to a laryngectomy
and lung surgery, was represented by attorney Howard
Acosta. Philip Morris blamed its former customer
for his illness, saying that Tune knew the risks but
enjoyed smoking. Mr. Tune had claimed that he
unsuccessfully tried to quit smoking at least 20 times.
The defense verdict is the first for Mr. Acosta in three
trials against tobacco companies, although his first
verdict was later overturned due to a change in Florida
law.
VERDICT FOR THE PLAINTIFF 4-11-02
- A dying grandmother suing British American Tobacco
(BAT) in Australia was awarded $375,000 (USD) by a jury.
Also , the judge unsealed an explosive order
that eliminated BAT's defenses as a sanction for destroying
evidence. Read our Backgrounder and Commentary
on this extraordinary development. Read
about the decision and read the document destruction
order punishing BAT (in pdf).
VERDICT FOR THE PLAINTIFF
3-22-02 - Philip Morris is liable for an Oregon
smoker's death, says the jury in a $150 million punitive
damages verdict! The Jury began deliberations on Monday.
Please see our Verdict Backgrounder and Commentary for
more information and documents from the case.
Also see coverage of the verdict from Bloomberg, AP,
and Reuters.
VERDICT FOR THE DEFENDANT 3-21-02
- A jury in federal court in Providence, Rhode Island
found Philip Morris not liable for the lung cancer death
of a smoker in Hyde v. Philip Morris. Most
of the claims against Philip Morris were dismissed prior
to trial. See the AP story on the verdict.
VERDICT FOR THE PLAINTIFF 2-22-02
- A Kansas City, KS jury has found RJ Reynolds Tobacco
Co. liable for the circulatory disease that caused David
Burton to lose both of his legs. A punitive damages
hearing has been scheduled for May. See our Verdict
Backgrounder and Commentary.
6-21-02 - A federal judge, for the first time,
has issued punitive damages against a tobacco company.
See our Backgrounder and Commentary on the $15 million
punitive damages award against R.J. Reynolds and then
read the historic Opinion itself.
VERDICT FOR THE PLAINTIFF 12-12-01
- A Tampa, Florida jury today found R.J. Reynolds
liable for compensatory damages of $165,000 in the trial
of a former school principal suffering from lung cancer
and emphysema after years of smoking Camel and Salem
cigarettes. See our verdict backgrounder and commentary.
VERDICT FOR THE DEFENDANT 11-14-01
- A West Virginia jury found the tobacco industry
not liable for funding a medical monitoring program
for healthy West Virginia smokers after a two month
class action trial. See our verdict backgrounder
for details.
VERDICT FOR THE DEFENDANT10-5-01
- An Ohio widow's trial to hold several tobacco
companies liable for her husband's lung cancer death
ended with a verdict for the defense. The jury
blamed David Tompkin's cancer on asbestos exposure stemming
from his work as a bricklayer rather than on his smoking
history, which ended 30 years prior to his death.
See the verdict coverage from the Akron Beacon Journal.
VERDICT FOR THE PLAINTIFF 6-6-2001
- An angry and well-informed Los
Angeles, California jury has found Philip Morris liable
for $3 billion in punitive damages in Richard Boeken
v. Philip Morris, Inc. Read our Backgrounder
and commentary on the historic verdict.
8-9-2001 - A California judge trims
Richard Boeken's punitive damages to a cool $100 million.
The race to the courthouse is on! See our post-verdict
backgrounder.
VERDICT FOR THE PLAINTIFF 6-4-2001 - A
Brooklyn jury has found the US tobacco industry liable
for unfair and deceptive business practices and has
been ordered to pay Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield
of NY $17.8 million. Read the latest from Bloomberg
and our own Verdict Backgrounder with supporting documents
and commentary.
VERDICT FOR THE DEFENDANT 5-16-2001
- Mehlman v. Philip Morris, Inc., et al.:
A New Jersey jury has found Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds
not liable for the lung cancer death
of Constance Mehlman. See our Background and Comments
on the verdict.
VERDICT FOR THE DEFENDANT 4-5-2001
- A Miami jury has held that cigarette makers are
not liable for the potentially fatal
lung disease of a flight attendant exposed to tobacco
smoke pollution on the job. Over 3,000 similar cases
involving flight attendants are pending and stem from
a 1997 class action settlement of the first phase of
the Broin trial.
MISTRIAL 1-22-2001 -
A state judge has declared a mistrial in a West Virginia
class action trial seeking medical monitoring for smokers.
The trial plan prohibited any reference to the issue
of addiction and an inadvertent reference last Thursday
resulted in the mistrial. The judge now questions
his decision to banish the addiction issue from the
trial. A new trial with new ground rules will
likely result.
MISTRIAL 1-25-2001
- A Brooklyn jury deliberating for five days
in the trial of an asbestos trust (which pays on injured
asbestos workers claims) suing tobacco companies for
hiding the synergy of asbestos and smoking is deadlocked
and a mistrial was declared by Judge
Jack B. Weinstein in Falise et al. v. Philip Morris,
inc., et al. Since the majority of jurors were
siding with the tobacco companies, this is a positive
development for the plaintiffs. The retrial might
take place as early as May. See the latest from
Bloomberg.
VERDICT FOR THE DEFENDANT 1-16-2001 -
A Brooklyn jury had found smoking caused the death of
Ms. Bonnie Apostolou in phase I of wrongful death suit,
but today ruled that the defendant tobacco companies
were not liable for her death. See TPLP's Verdict
Backrounder and Comments and the coverage from Bloomberg.
11-09-2000 - Lorillard has pulled out of punitive
damages settlement talks. See Associated Press
and Bloomberg reports. See TPLP's raction to the
proposed settlement.
"If all of these punitive classes were consolidated and expanded to cover the whole universe,
that would be the end
of punitive damages for the future . . . If they
were all combined, that would be the end of punitive
damages in tobaccoland."
-Judge Jack Weinstein
(7/31/2000), who has encouraged universal settlement
negotiations.
VERDICT FOR THE PLAINTIFFS (later voided by judge)
11-3-2000 - The European
Community has filed a massive smuggling complaint against
the tobacco industry in federal court. See the
complaint.
10-12-2000 - Tampa, FL jury finds RJ Reynolds
liable in the wrongful death Suzanne Jones, who died
from lung cancer in 1995. See TPLP's
reaction and the latest from Bloomberg.
VERDICT FOR THE DEFENDANT - 7/12/2000 -
A Mississippi jury has found RJ Reynolds not
liable (9-3) to the widow of a lung cancer
victim and father of 4 who died at the age of 37.
The Nunnally trial, which began on June 28,
did not provide jurors with much of an opportunity
to see internal industry documents or consider the fraud
and conspiracy allegations that have been effective
in the recent trials resulting in plaintiffs' verdicts.
VERDICT FOR THE PLAINTIFFS 7-7-99 - in PHASE
1
VERDICT FOR THE PLAINTIFFS 4-7-2000 in PHASE 2
PUNITIVE DAMAGES FOR PLAINTIFF 7-14-2000- Engle, et al. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, et al. (Dade
County, Florida, Eleventh Judicial Circuit)
First class action on behalf of smokers to go to trial.
This case is brought on behalf of Florida residents
injured as a result of smoking cigarettes and plaintiffs
are seeking as much as $200 billion. Judge Robert Kaye
presided over the flight attendants secondhand smoke
class action settled last Fall. (See opt
out notice web site). The case went to the
jury on June 28th. See our special report from Tobacco on Trial
9/3/99 - The Florida Third District Court of
Appeals has ordered
that punitive damages in Engle will be determined one
class member at a time rather than all-at-once.
But that same Third District Court, on Friday 9/17,
scrapped that order and scheduled oral arguments on
the issue for 10/20! See
the Miami Daily Business Review article to see why this
is going to be a tough battle for the tobacco companies.
9/14/99 - Engle Phase II trial delayed until November
1 to allow a trial plan appeal to be filed
and for the plaintiffs to substitute the husband of
of one representative class member who was to make her
damages claim in Phase II by died in July. But
that same Third District Court, on Friday 9/17, scrapped
that order and scheduled oral arguments on the issue
for to 10/20/99.
10/20/99 - In a disaster for the tobacco
industry, Florida's Third District Court of Appeals
ruled against the tobacco defendants and set
the stage for a massive punitive damages verdict on
behalf of all injured Florida smokers that could exceed
$10 billion (see the court's order). As
Big Tobacco's lead attorney Dan Webb told the court,
a lump sum punitive damages award would cause an
``enormous amount of irreparable harm to the industry.''
Defendants would need to post bond to file an appeal.
There is a very real possibility that this could result
in bankruptcy for some of the industry.
11/3/99 - The Florida Supreme Court agreed to
review the lump sum punitive damage plan in Engle
(see Bloomberg story). However they decide this, the industry
will likely be paying tens of billions of dollars in
punitive damages.
Phase 2 of the Engle trial is expected to last until
at least the end of January.
12/27 - Florida Supreme Court rejects tobacco
companies' lump sum punitive damages appeal. Florida
jury could send industry a $100 billion message in February!
See AP
story.
2/24/2000 - Florida Appeals Court denies Big Tobacco's motion
to remove gag order in the Engle case. Case should
be completed by the end of March.
4/7/2000 - The jury has found the defendants
laible for the injuries to all three representative
class members. $6.9 million in compensatory damages
were awarded to lung cancer victim Mary Farnan, a 44-year-old
nurse, and to the husband of Angie Della Vecchia, a
longtime smoker who died of lung cancer last summer
at the age of 53. Questions remain as the the effect
of the statute of limitations on the award to
plaintiff Frank Amodeo, a throat cancer victim and 60-year-old
clockmaker who was awarded $5.7 million. Judge
Kaye will determine the fate of Mr. Amodeo's award at
a later date.
The next phase of th trial will begin on May 15, 2000,
when the same jury will hear about a month of testimony
and then determine a lump sum punitive damages award
for the entire class of injured Florida smokers.
7/10/2000 - Attorney Stanley Rosenblatt (pictured)
told the jury in the Engle case that $154
billion is "an appropriate, just number"
to punish tobacco companies for their wrongdoing. 7/11/2000
- The defendants have argued that such an award would
be a "death warrant" for the companies. The jury
will deliberate on the question later this week.
7/12/2000 - Reynolds' attorney to jury: "Like many
individuals, Reynolds is living paycheck to paycheck."
7/14/2000 Punitive Dameges Verdict Issued:
ENGLE VICTORY!
After hearing 2 years of lies from the tobacco industry,
the 6 Engle jurors eloquently expressed their
vision of justice with Friday's $144 billion punitive
damages verdict. See TPLP's
reaction.
The case was removed from state to federal court on
a motion by the defendants. The federal court
is widely expected to remand the case back to state
court for the judgement to be entered by the end of
the year.
Engle class award for punitive damages slays Big Tobacco:
• Philip Morris
Inc.: $73.9 billion
• R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.: $36.2
billion
• Brown & Williamson Tobacco
Corp.: $17.5 billion
• Lorillard Tobacco Co.: $16.2
billion
• Liggett Group Inc.: $790 million
Defendants' last request:
Tobacco lead attorney Dan Webb:We demand
you retain this jury to hear the compensatory claims
of the 3-700,000 class members.
Judge Robert Kaye: "That's certainly
a novel request!"
11-6-2000 - On Friday,
federal Judge Ursula Ungaro-Benages of the Southern
District of Florida remanded the case back to state
court where Judge Kaye entered the $144 billion judgment
and rejected defendants' post-trial motions. See the
remand order (pdf image file-1mb) and Judge Kaye's order (html
or pdf).
VERDICT FOR THE PLAINTIFFS 3-20-2000 - Whiteley
et al. v. Philip Morris et al. Sup Ct of CA, SF
Case No. 303184: Asbestos + Smoking = Lung Cancer.
The plaintiffs are lung cancer victim Leslie Whiteley
and her husband Leonard. Ms. Whitely alleges that
her lung cancer, which is expected to kill her within
the next 6 months, was caused by her smoking and exposure
to asbestos.
Ms. Whiteley began smoking at age 13 and became addicted
to products produced by Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds,
both of which are defendants in the case. Ms.
Whiteley's first husband was exposed to asbestos in
the Navy and his asbestos-contaminated clothes were
laundered by Ms. Whiteley while she was a smoker.
Asbestos manufacturers are also defendants to this action.
The Whiteleys are represented by Madelyn Chaber of
Wartnick, Chaber, Harowitz, Smith & Tigerman, San
Francisco, CA.. She won a $25 million dollar verdict
against Philip Morris in February of 1999 in the Henley case. The trial commenced on 1/3/2000.
3/27/2000 - One week after a San Francisco jury
found Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds liable for negligent
cigarette design and fraud in the trial of 40 year-old
terminally ill lung cancer patient Leslie Whiteley and
awarded $1.72 million in compensatory damages, it awarded
an additional $20 million in punitive damages! See the
jury's verdict sheet (from Tobacco BBS) and an article about
the punitive
damages arguments (from the Lawnews Network)
Verdict for the Defense 7-9-99
Robert Gilboy et al. v. The American Tobacco Co., et al.,
No. 31-8361 (Louisiana. Dist. Ct., 19th Dist., E. Baton
Rouge Parish)
Robert Gilboy suffered from lung and brain cancer that
he alleged was caused by 45 years of smoking the defendants'
tobacco products. In 1987, he filed a suit that
knocked out on summary judgment and reinstated in 1991
by the Louisiana Supreme Court. Gilboy died in
1993, but was not suffering from cancer at the time
of his death.
On July 9, 1999, after less than a full day of deliberations,
the jury found the defendants not liable for Mr. Gilboy's
cancer. Comments by the jury foreman, Albert
Taylor, indicate that the jury was not convinced that
45 years of smoking caused Mr. Gilboy's lung cancer.
One defense expert suggested to the jury that a past
bout with tuberculosis might have led to Mr. Gilboy's
lung cancer.
The estate and wife of Robert Gilboy and an insurer
are represented by George Covert and Sean Fagen of Baton
Rouge. The judge, Michael Caldwell, began the
trial on 6/23/99.
Verdict for the Defense 6/2/99 Estate
of Burl Butler, et al. v. Philip
Morris, Inc., et al., No. 94-5-53, (Jones
County, Mississippi Circuit Court, Second Judicial District,
Ellisville). Long-awaited, long-suffering wrongful death
secondhand smoke trial involving a non-smoking Mississippi
barber who was diagnosed with a fatal lung cancer in
1993 came to an end on Wednesday, June 2nd when a Mississippi
jury found tobacco industry defendants not liable after
just 2 hours of deliberations. The Estate of Burl
Butler alleged that his lung cancer was caused
by environmental tobacco smoke, of which there was plenty
in Mr. Butler's barbershop. Before his death in
1994, Mr. Butler claimed that if he had been informed
by tobacco companies that their products could kill
non-smokers, he would not have permitted smoking in
his barbershop.
The 12 person jury in Ellisville, Mississippi voted
11-1 in favor of the tobacco companies. See the story from Bloomberg. After the verdict
was announced, one RJ Reynolds attorney reportedly said
that, "it was difficult for doctors to determine
how individuals develop cancer."
As a secondhand smoke case, all of the major tobacco
companies were defendants. Originally, the Ness-Motley
law firm of Charleston, South Carolina was among those
representing the plaintiffs, but ethics allegations
brought by the plaintiff against that firm resulted
in their withdrawl. Plaintiff counsel now includes Shane
F. Langston and Dennis C. Sweet, III of Langston Frazer
Sweet & Freese, 201 N. President Street Jackson,
Mississippi 39201.
Verdict for the Defense 5/13/99 Michelle
Steele et al. v. Brown and Williamson
Corp., No. 97-0961CVW3 (W.D. Missouri,
Kansas City)
The trial was the result of a wrongful death
lung cancer suit brought by the children of Charles
Steele. Mr. Steele died in 1995 of lung
cancer at age 56. His children asked for more
than $25 million in damages. (See background article from the Kansas City Star and
the verdict story from Bloomberg) No conspiracy counts were
part of this case and the single fraud count was dismissed
prior to trial. As a result, internal tobacco
documents that infuriated jurors in San Francisco
and Portland this year were not available to this
jury.
This trial took place in Kansas City, Missouri, home
to the tobacco industry's number one law firm of Shook,
Hardy, and Bacon. The Steele family is represented
by J. Michael Cronin while Brown and Williamson is
represented by Steven D. McCormick of Kirkland &
Ellis and Robert Northup of Shook, Hardy, and Bacon.
U.S. District Judge Ortrie Smith presided over
the trial. It was expected that the trial would
last three weeks, but the jury began deliberations
after one week of testimony. It is not clear
why the trial lasted one third of the time expected.
The following quote from Bloomberg may shed some
light on the outcome: "Steele `knew what he was
doing. He knew (cigarettes) were bad, but they gave
him pleasure. The pleasure outweighed the
dangers,' said Gary White, 57, of Kansas
City, the jury foreman who said he has smoked
since he was about 12."
Verdict for Plaintiff 4/29/99 Charles
Connor v. Lorillard et al., No. 97-210501/CX1634
(Md. Circuit Court, Baltimore City) A six person jury
in Baltimore, Maryland found Lorillard Tobacco Company
and filter manufacturer Hollingsworth & Vose liable
for the Mesothelioma of a former Kent smoker. Mesothelioma
is a rare and fatal cancer of the lung lining usually
caused by exposure to crocidolite ("blue")
asbestos. The jury awarded $2 million in punitive
damages and $225,000 in compensatory damages to Mr.
Connor. It has been reported that Hollingsworth &
Vose signed an indemnity agreement with Lorillard
in the 1950s which would require Lorillard to cover
all product liability expenses.
The trial was held in Baltimore City Circuit Court
and was presided over by Judge Albert Angeletti.Mr.
Connor is represented by John E. Herrick and Paul
Cone of Ness, Motley, Loadholdt, Richardson &
Poole or Charleston, South Carolina (who participated
in the Lacy trial in Dedham, Massachusetts
in March) and Michael Edmonds of the Peter Nicholl
firm in Baltimore.
Verdict for Defense 5/10/99 Edith
Karney v. Philip Morris Inc.,
No. 89196-8-T.D.; Denise McDaniel v. Brown
& Williamson Tobacco Corp., 90832-8
T.D.; Newcomb. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco
Co., No. 88913-8
T.D; Olanda Carter v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco
Co., No. 88570-8-T.D.( dismissed prior
to trial) ;Ruby Settle v. B.A.T.
Industries, No. 89226-8-T.D.(dismissed
March 17, during trial) (Memphis, Tennessee, 13th
Judicial District)
First consolidated tobacco trial was to be conducted
in up to 2 phases: Phase One dealt with industry
liability on theories of negligence, strict liability,
conspiracy and breach of warranty. Phase Two, which
would have taken place only in the event of a plaintiff's
verdict in Phase One, would have addressed causation
and damages for each of the five plaintiffs.
The same jury would have presided over both phases.
The trial moved more slowly than expected and the
judge has not allowed more than about a dozen pieces
of documentary evidence for each plaintiff.
This is in sharp contrast to recent trials in which
the jury was allowed to see hundreds of tobacco industry
"secret" documents. The excluded documents
undermined the assertions made by the defendants in
trial. By preventing the jury from seeing potential
evidence of industry deceit, the plaintiffs were at
a distinct disadvantage. The Plaintiffs' attorneys
are lead by Curtis D. Johnson, Jr., of Memphis,TN
and Norwood S. Wilner, of Jacksonville, FL.
VERDICT FOR PLAINTIFF 3/30/99 -
Joann Williams-Branch v. Philip Morris,
Inc., No. 9705-03957, (Circuit Court
for the County of Multnomah (Portland)).
A wrongful death individual lung cancer case against
Philip Morris. Jury selection began on
February 22, 1999 and the trial commenced the following
day. After two and half days of deliberations,
a Portland, Oregon jury found Philip Morris liable
for the death of Jesse Williams in Branch-Williams
v. Philip Morris. The tobacco giant was ordered
to pay $81 million. Losing two lung cancer trials
in a row is a devastating blow to the tobacco industry!
Plaintiff counsel includes: Ray Thomas and James
Coon of Swanson, Thomas, & Coons; Bill Gaylord,
Gaylord & Eyerman; Charles Tauman; and Professor
Richard Daynard.
6-5-02 - The Oregon Court of Appeals today
restored the punitive damages assessed by a Portland
jury against Philip Morris in 1999 to $79.5 million.
The Court's decision in Williams v. Philip Morris
can be read
here. Read
Reuter's story on the decision. Background on the
original trial from our archives can be read
here.
VERDICT FOR DEFENDANTS 3/18/99
Iron Workers Local Union No.
17 Insurance Fund v. Philip Morris Inc., et al.,
No. 1:97-cv-1422, (N.D. Ohio (Akron)). Class
of about 100 Ohio unions seeking recovery of fund
assets (as well as treble and punitive damages) related
to treating members suffering from tobacco-caused
disease brought under theories of racketeering,
antitrust and conspiracy. The class was certified
on October 20, 1998. After three days of deliberations,
an eleven member jury unanimously voted to find the
industry not liable.
One possible explanation
for the pro-industry verdict, which came as a surprise
to most observers, is the compressed time frame for
the trial. Under an accelerated schedule ordered
by the trial judge, in four weeks, the allegations
of a first of its kind class action trial dealing
with fraud and civil racketeering charges had to be
proven. Likely, the one week provided to the
plaintiffs to present the critical fraud and conspiracy
aspects of the case to the jury was insufficient.
Normally, long trials caused by industry litigation
tactics benefit the industry. Here, an exceptionally
and exceedingly short trial may have benefited the
industry.
While some have characterized this loss as an end
to union fund recovery litigation against Big Tobacco,
a similar trial is scheduled for September in Seattle
(Northwest Laborers Employers Health & Security
Trust Fund et al. v. Philip Morris, Inc. et al.).
Plaintiff counsel includes Robert Connerton of Connerton
& Ray who has about two dozen similar proposed
class actions pending around the nation. Other
firms representing the plaintiff include: Schwarzwald
& Rock in Cleveland; the Landskroner Law Firm
of Cleveland; Milberg, Weiss, Bershad, Hynes &
Lerach in New York and San Diego; Stritmatter, Kessler,
Whelan & Withey in Seattle; Kargianis, Watkins,
Marler in Seattle; Roger M. Adelman of Washington,
D.C.; G. Robert Blakey of Notre Dame Law School; and
Einer R. Elhauge of Harvard Law School.
VERDICT FOR PLAINTIFF 2/9/99 Henley
v Philip Morris Inc., et al, Sup
Ct of CA, SF Case No. 995172.
2/9/99 - In first verdict against Philip Morris. a California
Jury gives $50 million in punitive and $1.5 million
in compensatory damages to smoker with lung cancer!
The jury found Philip Morris liable for Product defect,
failure to warn (before July 1969), Negligence,
Fraud, False Promise, Express Warranty, and Conspiracy.
On 4/6/99, the trial judge reduced the punitive damages
to $25 million, bringing the total award to $26.5 million.
This is an individual personal injury action on behalf
of a 52 year old woman dying of lung cancer. Marlboro
(mfg. by Philip Morris) was her primary brand although
all major cigarette companies are defendants under fraud
and conspiracy allegations. Plaintiff's attorney is
Madelyn Chaber, Wartnick, Chaber, Harowitz, Smith &
Tigerman, San Francisco, CA.. William Ohlemeyer,
Shook, Hardy & Bacon, Kansas City, MO, is lead defense
counsel. See
First Amended Complaint
11-7-01- A California court of appeals upheld
a $25 million punitive damages award against Philip
Morris in the case of Henley v. Philip Morris.
While Philip Morris claims that it did not cause Patricia
Henley's lung cancer and should not face punitive damages,
the unanimous ruling of the court of appeals called
the company's conduct "reprehensible."
See the coverage in the
LA Times; the press
release of the plaintiff's attorney, and the
decision itself.
VERDICT FOR DEFENDANTS 2/12/99
Lacy v. Lorillard Tobacco Company
et al., No. 94-01894 ( Sup. Ct., Norfolk
County, Mass.)
A Kent Micronite filter case in which a smoker of Kent
cigarettes during the mid 1950s was stricken with mesothelioma,
a rare and fatal form of lung cancer caused exclusively
by exposure to "blue" asbestos. This
is a wrongful death action in which punitive damages
may be awarded under Massachusetts law. This deadly
material was used as a loosely packed filtering agent
for several years by Lorillard. Plaintiff counsel
includes Charles Patrick of Ness, Motley, Loadholdt,
Richardson & Poole (Charleston, SC)as well as noted
Micronite filter expert, Daniel Childs of Johnson &
Childs (Philadelphia, PA). The Massachusetts firm
of Hollingsworth & Vose, which assembled the filters
for Lorillard, is a co-defendant but has reportedly
been indemnified by Lorillard.
The Estate of Mildred Lacy is represented by Charles
Patrick of Ness Motley Richardson Loadholdt & Poole
(Charleston, SC) and by Daniel Childs of Johnson &
Childs (Philadelphia, PA). |
