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The story from Reuters as it appeared on the New York Times website:
June 6, 2001
Jury Orders Philip Morris to Pay Ex-Smoker More Than $3 Billion
By REUTERS
Filed at 6:27 p.m. ET
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - In one of the largest individual damage awards ever against the tobacco industry, a Los Angeles jury on Wednesday ordered Philip Morris Cos. Inc. (MO.N) to pay more than $3 billion to a 56-year-old cancer patient who said the tobacco giant failed to warn him of the dangers of smoking.
The tobacco giant vowed immediately to appeal the verdict, saying that plaintiff, Richard Boeken, had ignored health warnings by smoking two packs of Marlboro a day for more than 40 years.
The verdict was reached on Tuesday after nine days of deliberations by a Los Angeles Superior Court jury and read out in court on Wednesday. The damage award included $3 billion in punitive damages and almost $6 million in compensatory damages.
Boeken, a securities and oil broker 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 from Philip Morris. He accused the cigarette maker of fraud, conspiracy and negligence.
``Obviously we're very disappointed with the verdict,'' Maury Leiter, a lawyer for Philip Morris, told reporters. ``We recognize that Philip Morris is an unpopular company that makes a dangerous product. But we don't believe the evidence supports the verdict in this case.''
Boeken 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.
FIRST TOBACCO CASE TO REACH TRIAL IN LOS ANGELES
``The evidence here showed that Boeken ignored evidence from the health community about the dangers of smoking,'' Leiter said.
Stock in Philip Morris dropped in after-hours trade in reaction to the award, falling to $48.25 from a regular- session close of $50 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Salomon Smith Barney tobacco industry analyst Martin Feldman said in a research note that the outcome of the case ``suggests that the industry still has a great deal of work to do on its strategy in California.''
The lawsuit -- the first smoking and health related case to reach trial in Los Angeles -- was being watched closely because cigarette makers, having fended off lawsuits brought by individual smokers in other states, have been ordered to pay plaintiff's damages in three other California lawsuits filed by smokers.
On Monday, a federal jury in Brooklyn, New York awarded $17.8 million in damages to a major insurer as compensation for smoking-related costs.
The jury in that case found that Philip Morris and several other tobacco companies engaged in deceptive business practices in a case brought by Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield.
But the jury rejected claims that the tobacco companies were guilty of fraud and racketeering, which could have carried penalties of more than $1.5 billion.
Philip Morris stock has been trending steadily higher since late March and is up almost 16 percent since the start of the year.
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An "unpopular company that makes a dangerous product." Yupper smucker! And now it's time to pay for your murderous trade practices. Death to Philip Morris! Death to all tobacco companies!
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