PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A $150 million Oregon jury award in 2002 against the Philip Morris tobacco company is going back to a trial court for reconsideration.
A Multnomah County jury awarded the estate of Michelle Schwarz $150 million in punitive damages in 2002 after her husband, a doctor, sued Philip Morris over its low-tar cigarettes.
A judge later reduced that amount to $100 million.
The tobacco company won a ruling by the Oregon Court of Appeals in 2006 that vacated the jury award on technical grounds and ordered a new trial on the issue of punitive damages.
The Oregon Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the Court of Appeals, saying the jury must be instructed it cannot punish Philip Morris for harm done to people other than Schwarz.
