Another Wrongful Death Case Involving Big Tobacco

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In another wrongful death case against cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris, the Oregon Court of Appeals threw out a $150 million verdict for the estate of Oregon woman Michelle Schwarz, who died of cancer at age 53 after smoking low-tar cigarettes.

Attorneys for Schwarz claimed that the company had marketed its low-tar cigarettes as a safer alternative to regular cigarettes.

Multnomah County Circuit Judge Roosevelt Robinson reduced the $150 million verdict to $100 million, saying the original verdict was "grossly excessive." The Oregon Court of Appeals vacated the verdict and remanded the case for a new trial to determine appropriate punitive damages.