A Los Angeles judge has overturned a record-breaking 28 billion-dollar award toa former smoker to $28 million dollars (€28 million), saying the jury's decisionon punitive damages was excessive.
Superior Court Judge Warren Ettinger upheld the jury's decision that cigarettemaker Philip Morris was at least partially responsible for Betty Bullock'scancer.
However, he said $28 million was "a reasonable sum to be awardedagainst Philip Morris in these circumstances".
The judge also denied the tobacco company's request for a new trial on themerits of the case. Philip Morris said it would appeal.
"The court recognised that the jury's punitive damage award was excessive,but failed to do what Philip Morris USA believed was required - reverse theentire verdict and order a new trial, William Ohlemeyer, Philip Morris vicepresident and associate general counsel, said in a statement.
In September, the jury ordered the tobacco company to pay Bullock $750,000(€750,000) in economic damages and $100,000 (€100,000) for pain in suffering.
In October the jury awarded her 28 billion in punitive damages.
Philip Morris lawyer Peter Bleakely had argued the punitive damages wereexcessive and the jury used the award as a means of punishing the company. Theaward was higher than the combined amounts of punitive damages awarded in allthe cases in California in the past two decades, he said. ~\~ Bullock, 64, of Newport Beach, started smoking when she was 17 and wasdiagnosed last year with lung cancer that has since spread to her liver.
During the nine-week trial her lawyer, Michael Piuze, told jurors that PhilipMorris concealed the dangers of cigarettes with a widespread disinformationcampaign that began in the 1950s. He used internal tobacco industry documents tolay out his contention.
Philip Morris did not try to defend its past actions. Instead, the companyturned the spotlight on Bullock and her decision to smoke.
While Philip Morris has not paid damages in a smoking-related lawsuit broughtby an individual, the Bullock and the Boeken cases join a growing list of damageawards the company faces.
"Their appellate lawyers now have to be perfect in quite a few cases, andfrankly seeing some of the developments at the trial level, we expect that most,if not all of these awards will withstand appellate review," said Edward Sweda,senior lawyer with the Tobacco Products Liability Project, based at NortheasternUniversity School of Law in Boston.
AP