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• Court Rejects $15 Mln Award in Kansas Smoker Case 

A federal appeals court on Wednesday threw out a $15 million punitive damages award to a lifelong smoker who sued R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. after losing his legs from a cigarette-related illness.

But the Tenth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a split decision, left intact a Kansas jury's compensatory damages of $196,416, finding the cigarette maker failed to warn David Burton of the dangers of smoking.

The jury also awarded $1,984 in compensatory damages, but no punitive damages, against Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. The two companies merged last summer, forming a new company, Reynolds American Inc .

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