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Philip Morris Ruling Won't Encourage Other Suits 

Prudential Equity Group reiterated an "overweight" rating and $70 target price on Altria Group, saying the recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the company's Philip Morris division isn't likely to encourage other filings. The court refused to review the Henley verdict, an individual product liability case lost by the company in February 1999. As a result of the most recent decision, Philip Morris will now have to pay out approximately $16.2 million in damages and interest, versus the original $51.5 million award. "Our view is that individual product liability cases used to be a significant issue for cigarette manufacturers," Prudential said. But in the wake of the court's ruling in the State Farm case, which dramatically reduced the likelihood of a large punitive damage, "we believe that these cases represent nothing more than a nuisance at this point."

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