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Non-Tech : Philip Morris - A Stock For Wealth Or Poverty (MO) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: md1derful who wrote (3577)	4/6/1999 9:26:00 PM
From: TechMkt	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6439

Here is the whole story. Hope we get a boost from this. Fez ______________________ Tuesday April 6, 8:49 pm Eastern Time Calif. judge slashes damages against Philip Morris SAN FRANCISCO, April 6 (Reuters) - A San Francisco judge on Tuesday cut in half a jury's award of punitive damages against Philip Morris (NYSE:MO - news), ordering the maker of Marlboro Cigarettes to pay $25 million to a former smoker with inoperable cancer. Superior Court Judge John Munter upheld the landmark verdict issued by a jury in February against Philip Morris, but ruled that the jury's decision on punitive damages was ''excessive'' and reduced the amount to $25 million from $51.5 million. In an 18-page order, Munter also upheld the jury's award of $1.5 million in compensatory damages and denied the company's request for a new trial, saying its arguments were without merit. Munter said the award of $25 million was sufficient to deter and punish Philip Morris and other tobacco firms from continuing the practices that led to the lawsuit, noting that ''even a major company does not absorb an award of that magnitude without substantial discomfort.'' Munter gave the smoker, Patricia Henley, until April 19 to decide whether to accept the lower award or go back to court for a new trial to decide the level of punitive damages. Harry Wartnick, a lawyer representing Henley, said she had been given a copy of Munter's order but had not yet decided whether she will accept the offer. Wartnick also said Munter's decision was not a surprise, and noted that if Henley accepts the revised amount of damages she will still receive more than the $15 million in punitive damages she originally asked for. Legal analysts have said the San Francisco jury's decision against Philip Morris, coupled with an $80 million verdict against Philip Morris last week by an Oregon jury, would open the way to more lawsuits by individual smokers against the tobacco industry. Lawyers for Philip Morris were not immediately available to comment on Munter's order.