Florida Smokers Ask Court to Restore Verdict

Lawyers for hundreds of thousands of Florida smokers asked the state’s highest court to reinstate a $145-billion punitive damage award against Altria Group Inc.’s Phillip Morris USA unit and other U.S. cigarette makers.

Stanley Rosenblatt, who represents about 700,000 Florida smokers, asked the state Supreme Court to reverse a lower-court ruling that threw out the verdict returned by a Miami jury in 2000. Florida’s 3rd District Court of Appeals ruled in May 2003 against the plaintiffs. Jurors awarded punitive damages in the second part of a three-phase trial plan.

“This case exemplifies the chaos that can result from an improperly certified class action,” argued Elliot H. Scherker, a lawyer for the cigarette makers.