Jump to full article: Bloomberg News, 2002-12-31
Author: William McQuillen
Intro: Philip Morris Cos. and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings Inc. won a lawsuit brought by relatives of a dead smoker, their first victory in California after four straight losses in individual smoker cases.
U.S. District Judge Saundra Armstrong ruled in favor of the companies after relatives of Frank Robert White finished presenting their case, in the first wrongful-death case against cigarette makers to proceed to trial. . .
White died in July 1999 at 81 after decades of smoking Camel and Marlboro brand cigarettes. Plaintiffs, who included relatives Elaine Conley, Weldon White and Dorothy White, claimed smoking caused White's chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cardiomyopathy. . .
Richard Daynard, a Northeastern University law professor and anti-smoking activist, said federal judges are ``much more conservative'' than state judges because they tend to come from large law firms where they defended corporations.
``Plaintiffs' lawyers generally try to get out of federal court and defense lawyers just love being in there,'' Daynard said. ``There's a tremendous difference of attitude between state and federal court.''
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