Philip Morris to Seek Review of Decision

Tobacco giant Philip Morris Cos. said it would ask the California Supreme Court a second time to review an appellate decision approving a $26.5-million award to a cancer-stricken smoker. The company, a unit of Altria Group Inc., said the lower court improperly applied new rulings by California’s highest court that limit tobacco companies’ liability for their conduct from 1988 through 1997.

Patricia Henley’s case was one of six consecutive trial defeats for the tobacco industry on the West Coast. A San Francisco jury in 1999 awarded Henley $1.5 million in compensatory and $50 million in punitive damages. The punitive damages award later was lowered to $25 million.