Jump to full article: Associated Press (AP), 2004-09-21
Author: CHARLES E. BEGGS Associated Press writer
Intro: SALEM — A lower court's $100 million punitive damage award against cigarette maker Philip Morris should be overturned as unconstitutional, the state Court of Appeals was told Monday.
The March 2002 judgment in Multnomah County was the first such award in the nation based on claims that low-tar cigarettes are as dangerous as regular ones.
Edward Sweda, a lawyer for the Tobacco Products Liability Project at Northeastern University, said Monday he believes the Oregon award is tied, with a California case, as the largest unreversed punitive damage award involving a single smoker.
"This is a very important case on the national scene,'' Sweda said in a telephone interview. . . .
An Oregon jury found in favor of the estate of a Michelle Schwarz of Salem, who died of lung cancer in 1999 at age 53.
Lawyers for the estate argued that Philip Morris fraudulently marketed its low-tar Merit brand as safer than regular cigarettes. The company says it never claimed Merits were healthier than regular filtered cigarettes.
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