Tobacco.org

• Tobacco case moves ahead  

The Missouri Court of Appeals on Tuesday re-adopted its decision in a landmark tobacco case after the Missouri Supreme Court returned the case to the appeals court in July.

In August 2007, the appeals court found evidence of intentional wrongdoing by tobacco company Brown & Williamson but ordered the case retried on the issue of punitive damages.

The case was brought by the family of Barbara Smith, who had smoked Kool cigarettes for nearly 50 years and died of a heart attack in May 2000 at the age of 73.

In February 2005, a Jackson County jury awarded the family $2 million in compensatory damages, which was later reduced to $500,000, and $20 million in punitive damages -- the largest punitive award in a Missouri smoking case.

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