| The jury awarded $79.5 million in punitive damages, and $1.6 million in compensatory damages to the family of Jesse Williams, who died in 1997, five month after he was diagnosed with lung cancer. This is the largest verdict ever against a tobacco company and the second major courtroom defeat for the industry in two months. Last month, a San Francisco jury awarded $51.5 million in another case against Philip Morris. The tobacco company plans to appeal both the verdicts. |
