Court: Oregon jurors acted reasonably in Philip Morris case - Statesman Journal
(AP) — A Portland jury that awarded $25 million in punitive damages to a dead smoker's family acted reasonably to send a message to tobacco giant Philip Morris USA for its reprehensible way of conducting business, the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled... The appeals court likened Philip Morris' role in the death of smoker Michelle Schwarz to "manslaughter" under Oregon law, had it been litigated in criminal court. Schwarz, a Salem resident, started smoking in 1964 at age 18. Schwarz was concerned about the health effects, so she switched to a low-tar cigarette that the company launched in 1976. She died in 1999 at age 53 from a brain tumor caused by lung... Schwarz's family filed suit in 2000. In 2002, a Multnomah County Circuit Court jury awarded about $168,000 in compensatory damages and $150 million in punitive damages. But a judge later reduced that punitive damages amount to $100 million, and the Oregon Court of Appeals later struck it down and the Oregon Supreme Court refused to reinstate it. That led in 2012 to a new trial, when a second Multnomah County jury... The appeals court also noted that the jury's award in Schwarz's case was smaller than another wrongful death verdict against Philip Morris: $79. 5 million in punitive damages awarded to. Source: www.statesmanjournal.com
