Tobacco Companies Not Liable, Jury Says

Philip Morris USA, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings Inc. and Brown & Williamson Tobacco Co. convinced a jury that they weren’t responsible for the lung cancer of a Missouri woman, the companies said Tuesday.

A state court jury in Independence, Mo., deliberated about six hours before rejecting claims by Linda Welch, a 30-year smoker who was diagnosed with cancer in 1995.

Welch, 51, had sought $9 million in compensatory damages in the trial that started May 12.

The verdict is the latest victory for the U.S. tobacco industry. Last month, a Florida appeals court threw out a record $145-billion verdict against the companies, removing one of the biggest threats to the industry.

“This demonstrates once again that when juries are presented with the facts and weigh the evidence, a common sense decision is the likely result,” said Gareth Cooper, an attorney for Brown & Williamson, a unit of London-based British American Tobacco.

Brown & Williamson had less success last month, when a jury in Little Rock, Ark., told the company to pay $19 million to the husband of an Arkansas smoker who died in 1999.

Philip Morris, a unit of Altria Group Inc., also is back in court in Los Angeles, where it is defending itself from claims that it is responsible for a California man’s lung cancer. Plaintiff Fredric Reller is represented by attorney Michael Piuze, who has won jury verdicts of $28 billion and $3 billion against the tobacco giant.

Both awards were later reduced by a trial judge.

With the Florida appellate court decision, the largest threat to Philip Morris is an Illinois judge’s ruling that the company should pay $10.1 billion to a class of the state’s consumers. The plaintiffs claim they were misled about the risks of light cigarettes.

Shares of New York-based Altria rose 19 cents to $43.07 and Winston-Salem, N.C.-based R.J. Reynolds’ shares rose 1 cent to $35.59, both on the New York Stock Exchange. The American depositary receipts of British American, each representing two ordinary shares, rose 62 cents to $22.29.