Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Marie Schwartz v. Philip Morris Companies Inc. The six-week trial took place in the state of Oregon and was tried in Multnomah County Circuit Court before Judge Roosevelt Robinson. Family members filed a wrongful death case against Philip Morris on behalf of decedent Michele Schwartz, who smoked Merit Lights from 1976 until her death. Claims presented before the jury include negligence, strict liability and fraud. The deliberation lasted for four days. ("$150m Jury Award In Light Cigarette Suit," 2002)
It has been reported that Philip Morris argued at trial that the deceased understood the dangers and risks associated with smoking but chose to consume the product and should be held responsible for her choice. The plaintiffs countered that the decedent consumed light cigarettes with the goal to stop smoking but that the Merit Light cigarettes proved to be a psychosomatic crutch for her and interrupted her efforts.
The plaintiffs also argued that Philip Morris promoted low-tar cigarettes as a safer and healthier substitute to standard cigarettes. ("$150m Jury Award In Light Cigarette Suit," 2002)
At the end of the trial and the four-day deliberation the jury awarded millions of dollars.
The following is a summary of the amounts that the jury awarded to the Schwartz family.
For the negligence claim, the jury awarded Schwarz $118,514.22 in economic damages, $50,000 in noneconomic damages and $25 million in punitive damages....
Concerning the strict liability claim, the jury awarded Schwarz $118,514.22 in economic damages, $50,000 in noneconomic damages and $10 million in punitive damages. Concerning the fraud claim, the jury awarded Schwarz $118,515.22 in economic damages, $50,000 in noneconomic damages and $115 million in punitive damages. Ultimately an Oregon judge reduced the punitive damages to $100 million and reduced the verdicts on the negligence and strict liability claim to $60,442.25 in economic damages and $25,000 in noneconomic damages." ("$150m Jury Award In Light Cigarette Suit," 2002)
The outcome of the case is based on the wrongful death statute in the state of Oregon. The wrongful death statute alleges that the decedent was killed as a result of negligence on the part of Philip Morris, and that the surviving dependents or beneficiaries are entitled to financial damages as a result of the defendant's conduct. Negligence is a tort consisting of the breach of a duty of care resulting in damage to the plaintiff.
Wrongful death claims can be made in cases of automobile accidents, defective products, malpractice and other wrongful behavior that causes the death of an individual. Immediate family members including spouses and children can make a wrongful death claim. Some states also extend the potential group of plaintiffs to grandparents, and extended family. ("General Wrongful Death Questions," 2002)
There are several types a damages that…
Bibliography
General Wrongful Death Questions." (2002). Free Advice. Retrieved October 1, 2002 at http://accident-law.freeadvice.com/wrongful_death/
150m Jury Award In Light Cigarette Suit." (April 2002) Headline Legal News. Retrieved September 30, 2002 at http://www.lexisone.com/news/nlibrary/m040402d.html
This, in turn, will also affect the overall economic situation of the country. A particular country's condition will also affect its neighboring country, hence, everyone is the world is affected. Usually, children are the common victims of the adverse effects of tobacco. Babies of smokers have greater chances of being born pre-maturely or having low birth weight. Moreover, secondhand smoke can trigger sudden infant death syndromes. Cigarette smoke can also
Today, each country implements the quotas it finds most suitable, leading as such to major fluctuations in the taxes, their percentage in the price and the final retail price. The federal authorities generally explain the high cigarette taxes as a means of reducing the consumption of cigarette, with the ultimate aim of reducing the number of smokers and protecting the health of the individuals. Nevertheless, fact remains that the fares
.." (Fleenor, nd) it is related that it did not take long for this to spread into other U.S. states with trucks all around the United States being hijacked and robbed of their cigarette cargo. The following tables lists the state excise tax rates on cigarettes for January 1, 2007. State Excise Tax Rates on Cigarettes (January 1, 2007 TAX RATE per pack) RANK STATE TAX RATE CENT PER PACK Alabama (1) Nebraska Alaska (3) Nevada Arizona New Hampshire Arkansas New Jersey California New Mexico Colorado New York
Cigarettes Why do people smoke? All of know that smoking is a dangerous, even potentially lethal habit - and one moreover that now carries an increasing weight of social stigma. And yet still people do it. There must therefore be compelling reasons why people should endanger their health to such a degree and the most obvious of these reasons is the one that smokers themselves offer up the most often: Smoking
When in adulthood, people start smoking because of different reasons, mainly because they encounter various problems in their lives. Smoking is commonly identified as a solution to stress, and, people get a feeling of relaxation after smoking. People that smoke are normally thinner than those that don't, and, accordingly, some overweight persons might take up smoking in hope that it would make them slim. Tobacco smoking reduces appetite and people's
Cigarette Advertising Campaign If we look at the case of Mary and RJR there is a contract formed between them for Mary to undertake a year long advertising campaign to present the companies cigarettes in a positive light, her remuneration was to be 25% of the increase in sales that the campaign created. It was also recognised that this was a very vague amount, and may be difficult to assess, as