Posted on 01/01/2003 3:41:20 PM PST by hoosierskypilot
OAKLAND, Calif. - Two major tobacco companies won a rare West Coast court victory when a federal judge cleared them of responsibility in the death of a lifetime smoker.
U.S. District Judge Saundra B. Armstrong ruled Tuesday that there was insufficient evidence to find Philip Morris Cos. and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. liable in the death of 81-year-old Frank Robert White.
The verdict came shortly before jury deliberations were to begin in the case.
White's children and widow argued that the man's 1999 death was caused by the companies' failure to make safer cigarettes or to provide adequate warnings of smoking risks.
White, who began smoking at 14, had heart disease and pulmonary disease when he died. But he never developed lung cancer _ the disease most directly linked to smoking.
Stephen J. Kaczynski, lead counsel for Reynolds, praised the ruling.
The judge "rightfully ruled that the plaintiffs had failed to show that the company's products were defectively designed or that Mr. White had not been warned about the risks of smoking," he said in a statement.
(Excerpt) Read more at start.earthlink.net ...
Second, this precedent will impact many of the cases currently pending in tobacco litigation.
Right on. And we can hope to nip in the bud the lunacy about fast foods. I see lawsuits about that looming over the horizon. Time to reel in the lawyers.
I think if you die at 81 you should just go quietly and shut up about why. Consider that a win.
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