Firing a shot that could be heard all the way back to Tobacco Road, a San Francisco jury Wednesday awarded a terminally ill cancer patient US$50 million in punitive damages against the nation's largest cigarette maker. The jury, which awarded Patricia Henley $1.5 million in compensatory damages a day earlier, stuck a knife into the guts of Philip Morris Cos. Inc. and twisted it, concluding that the company had deliberately concealed the dangers of tobacco from smokers. It also decided that Philip Morris was guilty of fraud and negligence. It's the largest award of its kind. Henley, 52, who is dying of lung cancer, said she will contribute all the money to anti-smoking programs. "I wouldn't touch a nickel of this blood money," she told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Up in Smoke
Firing a shot that could be heard all the way back to Tobacco Road, a San Francisco jury Wednesday awarded a terminally ill cancer patient US$50 million in punitive damages against the nation's largest cigarette maker. The jury, which awarded Patricia Henley $1.5 million in compensatory damages a day earlier, stuck a knife into the guts of Philip Morris Cos. Inc. and twisted it, concluding that the company had deliberately concealed the dangers of tobacco from smokers. It also decided that Philip Morris was guilty of fraud and negligence. It's the largest award of its kind. Henley, 52, who is dying of lung cancer, said she will contribute all the money to anti-smoking programs. "I wouldn't touch a nickel of this blood money," she told the San Francisco Chronicle.
