Jump to full article: Bloomberg News, 2000-09-15
Author: William McQuillen
Intro: Philip Morris Cos. and other U.S. cigarette makers are scheduled to begin defending themselves Monday in a Brooklyn courtroom from charges that their products caused a long-time smoker's fatal illnesses.
The case brought by the family of Jeffrey Davis, who was 50 when he died in 1996, is the latest in a string of lawsuits across the country that have sought to hold tobacco companies liable for the illnesses of individual smokers.
Tobacco companies have enjoyed overwhelming success in these individual smokers' lawsuits . . .
``The individual cases are the price of doing business -- a nuisance,'' said Bonnie Herzog . . .
The latest Brooklyn trial will be an encore performance for the Davis family's attorney Leonard Fitz, who argued the case that failed in June. Presiding over the trial will be Judge Herbert Kramer, who also handled the earlier case.
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Quotes from this article:
The individual [tobacco liability] cases are the price of doing business -- a nuisance.
Bonnie Herzog, an analyst with Credit Suisse First Boston. McQuillen, W.<I>Tobacco Companies Ready Defense in Brooklyn Trial (Update1)</I>
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