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Riverside man can sue Philip Morris 

A Riverside County judge agreed Wednesday to let a former smoker sue Philip Morris USA, meaning a jury could hear the case as early as next week, the man's lawyer said.

Bruce Coolidge, 53, a former truck driver who began smoking Marlboro cigarettes when he was 12, filed suit against the Richmond, Va.-based tobacco giant in July 2001 after he was treated for small cell lung cancer.

Coolidge is seeking to recover more than $1 million in medical costs, as well as damages for pain and suffering. If he wins, he will seek punitive damages in a subsequent phase of the case, his attorney Timothy Prince said.

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