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... has posted the following preview of the oral argument slated to take place in Philip Morris USA Inc. v. Williams (05-1256) before the Supreme Court: DUE PROCESS, PUNITIVE DAMAGES, PRODUCT LIABILITY, TOBACCO LITIGATION, REPREHENSIBILITY Philip Morris USA Inc. v. Williams (05-1256) Oral Argument Date: October 31, ... affirmed a trial jury's punitive damages award of $79.5 million. Philip Morris contends that the punitive damages award was unconstitutionally excessive because it was not reasonably ...

On March 31 the Supreme Cout of the United States dismissed the writ of certiorari as impovidently granted in Philip Morris USA Inc. v. Williams. The dismissal means that the $79.5 million punitive damages award affirmed by the Oregon Supreme...

... States District Court for the Eastern District of New York certified a class action against Philip Morris USA, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., ... cigarettes were less harmful to them. <i>See Schwab v. Phillip Morris USA, Inc.</i>, 449 F.Supp.2d 992 (E.D.N.Y. 2006). We have previously reported on the district court's 540- ... , each plaintiff must prove reliance, injury, and damages." McLaughlin v. Philip Morris USA, Inc., ___ F.3d ___ (2d Cir. April 3, 2008) ...

... as a result of smoking cigarettes manufactured and marketed by Philip Morris USA Inc. Mayola Williams sued Philip Morris alleging negligence, strict product liability, and fraud. At ... Philip Morris's request for a jury instruction on punitive damages which stated that Philip Morris could not be punished for harms suffered by nonparties. The jury awarded Williams $79.5 million dollars in punitive damages. In Philip Morris USA v. Williams ("Williams II"), the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the decision ...

... word this week: cigarette advertising is protected by the 1st Amendment, selling cigarettes isn't--no butts about it. In Philip Morris USA, Inc. v. City and County of San Francisco (Case No. 08-17649), the appellate court upheld ... , that's not enough" [to constitute a violation of the First Amendment], according to the opinion of the court. The appellate court choked on Philip Morris' argument, which the judges suggested would invite a 1st Amendment claim anytime the government banned something.

The Supreme Court will consider the petition for certiorari in Philip Morris USA, Inc. v. Accord at next week's conference. The issue presented is whether, under the Due Process Clause, defendants' liability for punitive damages in a mass tort trial may be adjudicated prior to a finding of compensatory liability. The cert. petition is available on SCOTUSblog here, along with the brief in opposition, the petitioner's reply, and ...

... jury verdicts. The 5-4 ruling was a victory for Altria Group Inc.'s Philip Morris USA, which contested an Oregon Supreme Court decision upholding the verdict. ... said. The decision did not address whether the size of the award was constitutionally excessive, as Philip Morris had asked. Punitive damages are money intended to punish a defendant for its behavior ... behalf of her husband, a two-pack-a-day smoker of Marlboros for 45 years. Jesse Williams died of lung cancer more than nine years ago. Philip ...

... Day came one day early when the Supreme Court yesterday issued its opinion in Philip Morris USA v. Williams, (No. 07-1216) and dismissed as "improvidently granted" ... Bashman, who writes How Appealing, has a round-up of news articles about the decision, and Philip Thomas, who writes the MIssissippi Litigation Review and Commentary blog, weighed in yesterday with ... record before the Court during this term. Stohr points to the decisions in Altria Group, Inc. v. Good, 129 S.Ct. 538 (2008) and Wyeth v. ...

... New York overturned a tobacco verdict yesterday in the case of Norma Rose v. Philip Morris USA. The jury had awarded $3.4 million in compensatory damages and $ ... to suggest that the defendant consciously disregarded the health risks posed to billions of consumers. Nevertheless, Philip Morris's conduct in marketing different cigarette brands with a range of tar and ... here - that the defendant could reasonably have believed to be lawful. In BMW of N. Am., Inc. v. Gore (517 U.S. 599, 574, 116 S.Ct 1589 ...

... damages in her fight with a cigarette maker, the Supreme Court said Tuesday she can collect her share. The court threw out the appeal of that award by Altria Group Inc.'s Philip Morris USA, frustrating the efforts of business interests that hoped to use this case to get the court to ... after he husband died of lung cancer. The state court has repeatedly upheld the verdict finding Philip Morris accountable for misleading people into thinking cigarettes were not dangerous or addictive.