Philip Morris Gets Florida Smoker's Verdict Reduced

Source from:  Bloomberg 02/25/2010

A Florida judge reduced an almost $300 million verdict against Altria Group Inc.'s Philip Morris USA unit to $38.9 million in a lawsuit brought by a former smoker who suffers from emphysema. "The court found that the jury's verdict was grossly excessive and unsupported by the evidence presented at trial," the cigarette maker said today in an e-mailed statement. A Fort Lauderdale jury last year awarded Cindy Naugle $56.6 million in compensatory damages and $244 million in punitive damages. The jury found Naugle was 10 percent responsible for her injuries and reduced the compensatory damages by that amount. Naugle started smoking in 1968 when she was 20 years old. Bob Kelley, a lawyer for Naugle, said in a phone interview that he will appeal the judge's decision. Philip Morris also said it will appeal, saying that no damages were warranted. The suit was one of about 4,000 filed after a 2006 Florida Supreme Court decision decertifying a statewide class action. The court allowed smokers to sue individually and extended the time for them to do so. The $300 million award was the largest tobacco verdict in Florida since the Supreme Court decision. The case is Lucinda Naugle v. Philip Morris USA, 07-036736, Broward County Circuit Court, Florida (Fort Lauderdale). Enditem