A Florida jury has slammed the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. with $23.6 billion in punitive damages in a lawsuit filed by the widow of a longtime smoker who died of lung cancer in 1996.
The case is one of thousands filed in Florida after the state Supreme Court in 2006 tossed out a $145 billion class action verdict. That ruling also said smokers and their families need only prove addiction and that smoking caused their illnesses or deaths.
Robinson individually sued Reynolds, the country's No. 2 cigarette maker, in 2008 on behalf of her late husband, Michael Johnson Sr. Her attorneys said the punitive damages are the largest of any individual case stemming from the original class action lawsuit.
Second and third largest US cigarette makers... by euronews-en
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http://www.inquisitr.com/1362352/no-2-cigarette-company-hit-with-23-6-billion-lawsuit/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-28389273