The Supreme Court recently rejected a tobacco industry request aimed at limiting damage awards in more than 700 West Virginia lawsuits filed by smokers.

The justices declined to examine a trial procedure in which a jury first determines whether smokers as a group are entitled to punitive damages before establishing whether any single smoker is entitled to compensation.
The rejection clears the way for sick smokers to seek millions, if not billions, of dollars in damages. Lawyers for the smokers say the trial plan is a valid way to ensure that claims against cigarette makers can move forward quickly.
Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco and Lorillard Tobacco had urged the Supreme Court to intervene. (pi)