26 novembre, 2006 16:00
Supreme Court Rejects Reinstatement of $10.1 Billion Cigarette Verdict
The Associated Press
11-27-2006
The U.S. Supreme Court sided with one of the largest U.S. tobacco companies on Monday and refused to disturb a court ruling that threw out a $10.1 billion verdict over Philip Morris USA's "light" cigarettes.
The Court issued its order without comment.
Last year, the Illinois Supreme Court threw out the massive fraud judgment against Philip Morris, a unit of the Altria Group Inc., in a class action lawsuit that involved "light" cigarettes.
Because the Federal Trade Commission allowed companies to characterize their cigarettes as "light" and "low tar," Philip Morris could not be held liable under state law even if the terms it used could be found false or misleading, the state court said.
The case involved 1.1 million people who bought "light" cigarettes in Illinois. They claimed Philip Morris knew when it introduced such cigarettes in 1971 that they were no healthier than regular cigarettes but hid both that information and that light cigarettes actually had a more toxic form of tar.
An Illinois judge ruled in favor of the smokers in March 2003, saying the company misled customers into believing they were buying a less harmful cigarette.
A separate case involving Philip Morris is pending before the Supreme Court. Justices are considering whether to allow a punitive damages award of $79.5 million to the widow of a longtime smoker.
