Tort Law
Oregon’s High Court Re-Reaffirms $79M Philip Morris Verdict
Posted Jan 31, 2008, 05:12 pm CDT
By Molly McDonough
For the third time, Oregon's high court has upheld a $79.5 million punitive-damages verdict against Philip Morris after the case was twice kicked back to them from the U.S. Supreme Court.
Central to arguments in the case are jury instructions. The Oregon court has ruled that jury instructions proposed by Philip Morris, which the trial judge disallowed, suffered defects, the Associated Press reports.
A Portland jury first awarded the damages in 1999 to the widow of a longtime cigarette smoker, Jesse Williams, who died in 1997. The actual damages amounted to $521,000, making the punitives about 150 times greater. The high court kicked it back down, first suggesting that punitives not be more than nine times actual economic damages.
On the second round, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling (PDF) last February, issued a narrower ruling that didn't take on the size of the award, but addressed how juries could consider the conduct of defendants in determining punitive damages, How Appealing explaines in a detailed analysis of the case.
Related Stories
- Public Reprimand Recommended for Fla. Appeals Court Judge
Jul 18, 2008, 05:06 pm CDT - New Jersey Woman Sues Surgeon Over Temporary Rose Tattoo
Jul 18, 2008, 03:12 pm CDT - Famed Trial Lawyer Gerry Spence: My New Blog Frightens Me
Jul 18, 2008, 02:49 pm CDT - LAPD’s False Info to Suspect Led to Murder of 16-Year-Old ‘Witness’
Jul 18, 2008, 12:23 pm CDT
Commenting has expired on this post.
Comments
Posted by Orergon makes other liberal judicial activist bast - 5 months, 2 weeks, 2 days, 15 hours, 8 minutes ago
Oregon’s Supreme Court must be filled with OTLA members bent on sending a message: feds go away, big verdicts are welcome here, don’t anyone tell us what to do. What’s that sound I hear? Oh, its the stampede of Chamber of Commerce hacks high-tailing it to Oregon. Be careful what you wish for, Your Oregon Honors.
Posted by Mark Buchanan - 5 months, 2 weeks, 2 days, 9 hours, 52 minutes ago
I think the Oregon Supreme Court is aware the that Supreme Court reached out to help Phillip Morris when no help was justified. A review of the transcript of the oral argument reveals the majority did not have a rational reason for reversing the verdict, only a theoretical one.