U.S.

Jury To Philip Morris: Cough It Up

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

June 6, 2001 / 8:18 PM EDT / CBS

A lawsuit charging that Philipp Morris was promoting its tobacco products as "cool," while failing to provide information about health risks, was upheld by a jury, which ordered the tobacco giant to pay more than $3 billion to a lifelong smoker.

The Los Angeles Superior Court jury found against Philip Morris on Wednesday on all six claims of fraud, negligence and making a defective product.

Richard Boeken, 56, was awarded $3 billion in punitive damages and $5.5 million in general damages. It is the largest judgment against a cigarette maker in a lawsuit brought by an individual. Philip Morris said it plans to appeal.

Boeken, who suffers from brain and lung cancer, sought $12.37 million in compensatory damages and between $100 million and $10 billion in punitive and exemplary damages.

Other Cases

Wednedsay's verdict was the latest in a series of tobacco industry courtroom losses. Earlier this week, a New York City jury found tobacco companies liable for deceptive business practices, ordering them to pay up to $17.8 million to treat ailing New York smokers.

There have been six earlier cases in which plaintiffs won individual awards since the mid-1990s, said Richard Daynard, a law professor and chairman of the Tobacco Products Liability Project at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston.

Only one of those plaintiffs has actually received any money, a 70-year-old ex-smoker who got $1.1 million from Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. after a 1995 jury award. The company is appealing the verdict to the Supreme Court, but was ordered to make the payment.

Three others are being appealed, while the other two have been overturned. (AP)

"I hope other lawyers step forward," said Michael Piuze, Boeken's lawyer, after Wednesday's verdict. "I hope it's given them a ray of hope."

Boeken, a securities and oil broker, claimed at the trial that he began smoking Marlboro cigarettes at age 13 and did not become aware of the health warnings until the mid-1990s. Lawyers for Philip Morris argued that Boeken knew of the risks but continued to smoke.

Boeken, of Topanga, Calif., smiled and gave a thumbs-up sign as the verdict was read. He declined to speak to reporters after the hearing.

The largest judgment against the tobacco industry in a class-action lawsuit was $145 billion awarded last year to thousands of sick Florida smokers Philip Morris was one of five tobacco companies in that case.

Piuze argued that his client was a victim of a decades-long tobacco industry campaign to promote smoking as "cool" while the company concealed the serious dangers of smoking. Boeken was diagnosed in 1999 with lung cancer, which has spread to his lymph nodes, back and brain.

Attorneys for Philip Morris didn't deny that smoking caused Boeken's illness but argued he ignored health warnings and chose to smoke despite the risk.

"We recognize Philip Morris is an unpopular company. It makes a dangerous product, but clearly the evidence does not support this verdict," said company attorney Maurice Leiter.

He said the company believes Boeken ignored "a mountain of information" about the health risks of smoking and chose to continue his habit.

Some attorneys said the verdict may not pass a new test adopted by the U.S. Supreme Court for awarding of damages.

"The punitive damage award has to bear some relationship to compensatory damage," said attorney Michael Hausfeld, who sued tobacco companies in May, claiming they violated federal racketeering laws to hook children on cigarettes.

"Clearly here the punitive award is an expression of total outrage and I'm not sure under the Supreme Court test for a single individual that kind of a differential would be upheld," Hausfeld said.

Piuze said his client, who only has a few months to live, is not particularly interested in collecting the money.

"I don't think Mr. Boeken cares very much right now what's going to happen to the proceeds here," Piuze said. "He cares that he's taken a shot at Philip Morris and it's landed."