A Massachusetts court will hear the appeal of Lorillard Tobacco in a wrongful death suit originally resulting in an award of USD 152 million euros (EUR 117 million) against the maker of Newports, the court docket shows.

The case brought by Willie Evans asked damages for the death of his mother, a former resident of the Roxbury district of Boston who died of cancer in 2002. Evans’s lawyers said Marie Evans had regular access to Newport cigarettes growing up in the 1950s through promotional giveaways. That early access developed into a lifelong habit that killed her, the court was told. An initial award of USD 71 million in compensatory damages and USD 81 million in punitive damages was later revised when the court lowered the compensatory amount to USD 35 million.
Lorillard in its appeal said it did not receive a fair hearing. The state Supreme Judicial Court and Appeals Court will hear oral arguments in Boston on 3 Dec. (ci)