The Supreme Court said it will review a USD 79.5 million (EUR 51.4 million) punitive damages judgment against Philip Morris for the third time, the Associated Press reports.
The justices have twice struck down the award to the family of a longtime smoker of Marlboros, made by Altria Group’s Philip Morris USA.
Oregon courts have repeatedly upheld the judgment. The most recent ruling, in January, followed a high court decision last year that said jurors may punish a defendant only for harm done to someone who is suing, not other smokers who could make similar claims.
The justices will consider only whether the Oregon Supreme Court in essence ignored the U.S. high court's ruling, not whether the amount of the judgment is constitutionally permissible.
The award was for the family of Jesse Williams, a former Portland janitor who started smoking during a 1950s Army hitch and died in 1997, six months after he was diagnosed with lung cancer. A jury in Portland made the award in 1999.
Philip Morris also had asked the justices to rule on the size of the award, but they declined to review that aspect of the appeal. The case will be argued in the fall. (pi)