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New York Appellate Court Says State Settlement Bars Punitive Awards In Individual Lawsuits 

The court held that "punitive damages claims are quintessentially and exclusively public in their ultimate orientation and purpose." The court concluded that the interest in punitive damages was therefore "previously and appropriately represented by the State Attorney General" in a 1998 settlement brought on behalf of all of the people of the State.

"Philip Morris USA believes the appellate court reached the legally correct decision in barring an individual plaintiff from seeking punitive damages. The ruling still permits the award of compensatory damages in individual cases," said Murray Garnick

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