Supreme court refuses tobacco firm appeal in smoker case

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

By James Vicini

WASHINGTON | Mon Mar 26, 2012 10:32am EDT

(Reuters) - The Supreme Court said on Monday it will not hear an appeal by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co in a Florida case in which it was ordered to pay $28.3 million to a woman whose husband died of lung cancer after decades of smoking its cigarettes.

The justices refused an appeal by the Reynolds American Inc unit, which argued that its constitutional due process rights had been violated and that the issue could affect thousands of pending cases in Florida against tobacco companies.

In 2009, a state trial court in Pensacola, Florida, ordered Reynolds to pay more than $3.3 million in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages to Mathilde Martin.

Her husband, Benny Martin, died in 1995 of lung cancer that she blamed on his long-time smoking of Reynolds' Lucky Strike cigarettes.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/26/us-tobacco-court-florida-idUSBRE82P0NR20120326

[Cirque du So-What]

1. That's surprising to me

considering the reactionaries currently sitting on the SC.

[Smilo]

2. Me too.

[dotymed]

4. IMO, big oil, finance, pharma and other companies

have replaced tobacco as large political contributors. That is the only reason that this ruling was upheld.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

5. good point. n/t

[onehandle]

3. Good. Line up and destroy big tobacco.

Payback.

[DeSwiss]

6. The other shoe just dropped.

And I'm simply astonished that this court in particular was the one who refused an appeal from these rich tobacco guys.

- The wonders will never cease......

K&R

[gratuitous]

7. Pay up, R.J. Reynolds

You had your day in court, and failed. Let's see, $28 million is about two days' profits. I'm sure R.J. Reynolds will really miss the money. Almost as much as Mathilde misses Benny.