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Obama's pick may not shift Supreme Court direction 

From hot-button social issues to high-stakes business disputes, President Barack Obama's replacement for retiring liberal Justice David Souter will allow him to leave his mark on the U.S. Supreme Court -- but may not dramatically shift its balance of power.

A new justice named by Obama, a Democrat who praised the court's liberals during his presidential campaign, probably would not change the current close split between the court's conservative and liberal factions, legal experts said, in which conservatives often prevail by a single vote, 5-4.

But the lifetime appointment, Obama's first for the Supreme Court, would create a judicial legacy that could last decades after he leaves the White House, even if he wins another four-year term. . . .

He also has voted with the liberals on important business cases, allowing environmental regulation of greenhouse gas emissions and ruling that federal law or regulation does not shield tobacco and drug companies from lawsuits in state court.

Still, Souter has sometimes supported business.

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SCOTUS tosses out cigarette challenge  

Ending a marathon legal battle with a fizzle, the U.S. Supreme Court today tossed out a challenge from cigarette-maker Philip Morris to an Oregon jury's $80 million verdict in a lawsuit filed by a smoker's window.

Today's action sets no legal precedent.

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Philip Morris, Wyeth Cases Mark Shift in U.S. Court’s Course 

Companies are in a slump at the normally business-friendly U.S. Supreme Court.

The high court’s order yesterday dismissing Philip Morris USA Inc.’s appeal of a $79.5 million smoker award left companies winless in the three biggest business cases resolved so far in the court’s 2009-10 term. The justices, who declined to rule on the Philip Morris case, said in earlier decisions that consumers can sue over “light” cigarettes and prescription drugs.

Those actions came from the same nine justices who only two years ago wrapped up the most pro-business term in decades, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. . . .

The high court action is “disappointing because it allows the Oregon courts to get away with that sleight of hand,” said Richard Samp, chief counsel of the Washington Legal Foundation, which supported Philip Morris, the largest U.S. cigarette maker.

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Altria Appeal of Smoker Award Dismissed by Top Court (Update3) 

The rebuff leaves intact an award that has grown to more than $150 million with interest and, if paid in full, would set a record in an individual smoker case. Today’s action comes after a dozen years of litigation between Philip Morris, the largest U.S. cigarette maker, and Mayola Williams, whose husband died of lung cancer in 1997.

“Tobacco litigation has been a war of attrition,” said Robert Peck, a Washington lawyer who represented Williams at the Supreme Court. “This is a testament to sticking to principle and pursuing a case to its end.”

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Court decision ends long battle for Ore. woman  

At a press conference in Portland, he said the family is relieved the dispute appears to have ended but the money is not likely to alter their lives except to provide extra financial security. And it is has not yet ended the grief felt over the death of Jesse Williams, who started smoking in the 1950s while serving in the Army and died of lung cancer six months after he was diagnosed.

Sitting at a table inside a downtown Portland legal firm with her son and two daughters, Freda Williams and Joanna Hafey, Mayola Williams said the outcome of the case has left her with mixed emotions.

"I don't know exactly how I feel," Williams said. "I know you people want to hear I am joyful and excited about this because of the money that is involved, but that is not the case." . . .

Bill Gaylord, an attorney for Williams, said he expects money owed to the family will be paid soon. But he said it's uncertain whether Philip Morris' legal fight with the state will involve Mayola Williams and her family, or impact their money.

"I wouldn't assume it doesn't affect them," Gaylord said. "Philip Morris has declared a new battle front."

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Justices Withdraw From Tobacco Damages Case 

"The Oregon Supreme Court applied the wrong Constitutional standard," Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote for the majority in 2007, and it should now "apply the standard we have set forth."

But the Oregon Supreme Court stuck to its original ruling, saying for the first time that it was supported by a principle of state law, one beyond the power of the United States Supreme Court to re-examine. The jury instructions Philip Morris had submitted at trial violated state law in minor but fatal ways, the state supreme court said.

At the argument before the United States Supreme Court in December, Stephen M. Shapiro, a lawyer for Philip Morris, called the state court proceedings "a game of gotcha." Some justices seemed to indicate that they were frustrated by the possibility of intransigence and gamesmanship. . . .

But there were also indications that the Oregon court had discovered a winning strategy in the case, Philip Morris USA v. Williams. No. 07-1216.

"I thought, 'This is a runaround,' " Justice Breyer said of his initial reaction to the Oregon court's ruling. But he added, "I'm not sure I think that now." . . .

In the end, though, the court did not call for further briefing on that point or explain why it threw in the towel altogether. It may have seemed bad enough to let a lower court have the last word without giving other state supreme courts a road map in all sorts of cases, including capital ones, for how they might avoid complying with rulings of the nation's highest court.

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Portland widow beats Big Tobacco / The U.S. Supreme Court dismisses Philip Morris' appeal of a $79.5 million award 

"To be truthful, I'm not in tune with my feelings," Mayola Williams said Tuesday during a press conference at the downtown office of two of her four Portland lawyers. "I'm feeling sad -- this is the month in which my husband died. But I'm also happy that Philip Morris will have to pay."

A decade ago, an Oregon jury levied $79.5 million in punitive damages against Philip Morris to punish the tobacco company for causing the death of retired Portland school custodian Jesse D. Williams, a longtime Marlboro smoker who died of lung cancer in 1997.

It was the largest verdict against a tobacco company at the time, although it has been eclipsed by a number of others, many of which have been overturned on appeal. Philip Morris and Williams' lawyers have been fighting for a decade over the size of the punitive damages, which far exceeded the $800,000 in noneconomic damages she was awarded. . . .

Portland lawyer Bill Gaylord said he did not know when Philip Morris would pay the Williams family but expected that it would be soon. He declined to say how much would be left after lawyers' fees, taxes and other assessments.

"I hope this case gives courage to other people who have claims against the other Philip Morrises of the world," Gaylord said. "And that every now and then, David slays Goliath."

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[E]very now and then, David slays Goliath.
Williams lawyer Bill Gaylord.

Supreme Court rejects Philip Morris appeal of award  

The total punitive damages would be the largest amount paid by a tobacco company in an individual product-liability case, according to Edward L. Sweda Jr., senior attorney for the Tobacco Products Liability Project at Northeastern University. The group is a division of the Public Health Advocacy Institute, a legal research center whose focus includes tobacco control.

"This $155 million for just one case portends very badly for the [cigarette] companies, which are facing more cases," Sweda said. "There are thousands of individual cases pending in Florida alone."

Philip Morris said it would challenge the 60 percent of the payment that would go to the state of Oregon. If it prevails, the company said it would be obligated to pay only the remaining 40 percent of the award to the plaintiff.

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• History of the Williams family's lawsuit against Philip Morris 

From The Oregonian of Monday, Feb. 22, 1999 -- Local Smoking suit seeks millions: The family of a Portland lung cancer victim wants Philip Morris Inc. to pay $110 million in damages

From The Oregonian of Monday, Feb. 22, 1999 -- Effort to pin tobacco ills on firms alights in Oregon: A $110 million suit against Philip Morris opens this week, and the case could be the next in a series of verdicts against cigarette-makers

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At Last, Mayola Williams Will Get Money from Philip Morris 

"We are thrilled," said Robert Peck of the Center for Constitutional Litigation, who argued the case for Williams. "I thought this was a highly appropriate ruling. It was the right result." Under Oregon law, 60 percent of the punitive damages award goes to the state, and Philip Morris has announced plans to mount yet another appeal of the state's portion. But Peck told us that the tobacco company is out of appeals on Williams's 40 percent. With interest, the punitive damages total is now about $150 million, so Williams is due for about $60 million.

The case has one of the most tortured appellate histories we've ever seen. . . .

Peck told us that during oral arguments his goal was to show the justices that "they weren't getting the runaround." Justice Stephen Breyer, he said, noted during the argument that although he'd voted to grant certiorari, he was no longer sure it had been the right vote. "I thought we did well with the Court, that the Court understood the issue, and that we would prevail," Peck said. His cocounsel, Portland trial lawyer Charles Tauman, predicted after oral arguments that the Court would dismiss the appeal.

Philip Morris was represented at the U.S. Supreme Court by Mayer Brown, which has been on the case for several years, and by Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, which Peck told us had come in for the third effort at the Court. Mayer Brown partner Stephen Shapiro argued for Philip Morris. Our calls to Mayer Brown were referred to Philip Morris, which e-mailed us a statement on the case. "While we had hoped for a different outcome, the Supreme Court has decided not to review a narrow procedural ruling by the state court," it said in part. "Today's decision does not impact the Court's earlier decisions on punitive damages."

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ATTIG: Justice, and then some, for Jesse Williams  

If the nearly $80 million in punitive damages that a Multnomah County jury leveled against tobacco purveyor Philip Morris for the premature death of cancer victim Jesse Williams was excessive -- and, yes, it was -- it couldn't have happened to a nicer defendant. . . .

This case is over, finally, 10 years and a day after the Multnomah County jury awarded Jesse Williams' widow, Mayola Williams, $800,000 in actual damages and $79.5 million in punitive damages. Because of accrued interest, the award has now grown to more than $155 million, 60 percent of which will go to an Oregon crime victims fund. The jury found that Philip Morris, the world's largest cigarette company, lied and lied about the health effects of its "lite" cigarettes, long after the company knew very well they were the same cancer sticks as regular cigarettes. . . .

Philip Morris deserves no sympathy. None. The company pushed, pushed, pushed its cancer-causing products, kept describing them as "lite," and somehow safer, long after it knew better. And if Tuesday's Supreme Court ruling in the Williams case has the effect of triggering a cascade of new legal challenges against Philip Morris and other cigarette makers, so be it.

None of them deserve to get off lite.

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Supreme Court dismisses appeal in tobacco case with $79.5 million verdict 

Critics of the tobacco industry claimed victory since the dismissal left in place the large verdict against Philip Morris. Other analysts cautioned that it is impossible to know why the justices decided to dismiss the case three months after hearing oral arguments.

Ms. Williams's lawyer, Robert Peck, told the Associated Press the outcome suggests that larger punitive-damages awards are merited in cases where the underlying behavior is "sufficiently reprehensible."

Tobacco company officials disagreed. "Today's decision does not impact the court's earlier decisions on punitive damages," said Murray Garnick, associate general counsel at Altria, in a statement. Altria is the parent company to Philip Morris. . . .

Various business groups in Oregon were hoping the US Supreme Court might provide solid answers and clear law on the punitive-damages issue.

"The disappointing thing from the standpoint of the associations that we represented in this is that we don't know why the court suddenly decided it was no longer interested in deciding the merits of the case," says Thomas Brown, a Portland lawyer who filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of Associated Oregon Industries and other business groups.

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Supreme Court Refuses Philip Morris Appeal 

After a decade of legal wrangling, cigarette maker Philip Morris appears to be running out of ways to avoid paying damages to the widow of an Oregon smoker.

As Kristian Foden-Vencil reports, damages now amount to more than $150 million.

The U.S. Supreme Court decided not to consider the latest appeal by the cigarette maker. Meaning Philip Morris has few legal options left. . . .

Mayola Williams: "I know you peoples want to hear that I'm joyful and excited about this because money's involved. But that is not the case. I'm feeling sad today."

That's because her husband died this month -- 12 years ago.

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High Court Dismisses Philip Morris Appeal of $79 Million Punitive Damages Verdict 

When such a dismissal comes soon after oral argument, it often means the justices have discovered a defect in the case that makes it an inappropriate vehicle to decide the issue. But when, as here, the dismissal comes nearly four months after argument, it could mean that after several tries, no majority of the justices coalesced around a single position. . . .

If the justices were divided on the legitimacy of the Oregon court's latest ruling as well as on the merits of the case, it may have proven impossible to form a majority, says Richard Samp, chief counsel of the Washington Legal Foundation, which supported Philip Morris.

"There is little doubt that the Oregon Supreme Court engaged in procedural gamesmanship to sidestep constitutional limits on its powers that it doesn't like," Samp says. "Today's action is disappointing because it allows the Oregon courts to get away with that sleight of hand."

Robert Peck of the Center for Constitutional Litigation in D.C., who argued on Mayola Williams' behalf, says she was "thrilled, overjoyed," at the news of the Supreme Court's action. "She hasn't gotten a dollar of the judgment," Peck says, and will get a substantial portion, though Philip Morris may challenge some of it on other grounds.

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• U.S. Supreme Court Dismisses Punitive Damages Appeal 

"While we had hoped for a different outcome, the Supreme Court has decided not to review a narrow procedural ruling by the state court. Today's decision does not impact the court's earlier decisions on punitive damages," said Murray Garnick, Altria Client Services senior vice president and associate general counsel, speaking on behalf of Philip Morris USA. "Importantly, the Court did not disturb its 2007 Williams decision which held that a jury may not impose punitive damages for harm caused to anyone other than the plaintiff in a particular case," added Garnick.

The Court's decision, however, does not end the dispute, which has been ongoing for more than a decade. Oregon state law requires that sixty percent of any punitive damages award be paid to the state. Philip Morris USA believes that the Master Settlement Agreement, to which Oregon is a party, precludes the state from collecting any punitive damages award from the company. Oregon and Philip Morris USA are parties to a proceeding in Oregon state court that seeks a determination of whether the MSA bars the state from collecting punitive damages. If Philip Morris USA prevails, the company would be obligated to pay only the remaining forty percent of the punitive damages award to the plaintiff in this case.

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