Tobacco.org

First individual award against big tobacco in Arkansas is upheld 

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The first jury award in Arkansas for an individual against a tobacco company, for $9 million, has been upheld.

Henry Boerner, 74, said he and his family were "tickled to death" that a three-judge panel from the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis upheld the May 2003 verdict against Louisville, Ky.-based Brown & Williamson Tobacco Co., even though the higher court reduced the award from $19 million to $9 million.

"Obviously, I'm in pretty good shape for a rainy day," said Boerner, whose first wife, Mary Jane Boerner, died of smoking related illnesses in 1999 at age 69.

Jump to full article »