US: Widow paid over $60m as Philip Morris appeal thrown out

Date: 1 Apr 2009

The US Supreme Court has said that a woman widowed twelve years ago when her partner died of lung cancer can collect the large financial award she was previously granted, tersely dismissing the appeal by tobacco giant Philip Morris USA.

The case had been a focus for businesses aiming to restrict the amount of damages that can be awarded by juries, after previous cases saw punitive awards reaching dizzying heights which were, it was argued, out of proportion to the actual harm caused.

The court has not ruled on any of the legal arguments made, but instead has simply upheld the ruling of the Oregon Supreme Court without comment. Philip Morris had been seeking a new trial on the grounds that instructions given to the jurors in the original trial had contained contestable flaws.

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