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Tobacco Industry Loses Two Trials in One Day for First Time 

On Thursday, September 26, 2002, a jury in Los Angeles found Philip Morris (MO) liable for the lung cancer of Betty Bullock, a 64 year-old Newport Beach resident whose lung cancer has spread to her liver. The compensatory damages of $850,000 was awarded in the first phase of the trial. The same jury will return to the court room on Tuesday to hear testimony regarding the amount of punitive damages it will award. (Betty Bullock v. Philip Morris, Inc. - Los Angeles Sup. Ct. No. BC 249171)...

Northeastern University School of Law Professor Richard Daynard, who also chairs the Tobacco Products Liability Project, observed that, "Cigarette makers have been minimizing the risks they face in litigation for years. But it is becoming increasingly difficult to stuff this 800 pound gorilla in the closet when juries thousands of miles away from each other are coming back with verdicts holding them liable on the same day."

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