Court Awards $35M To Fla. Smoker's Widow
MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) – The widow of a smoker who died of lung cancer over 15 years ago has been awarded $35 million in damages.
The 3rd District Court of Appeal upheld a jury's verdict of awarding Dorothy Alexander $25 million in punitive damages and $10 million in compensatory damages against Lorillard Tobacco Co.
Lorillard unsuccessfully argued the damages were excessive and raised a number of other claims.
Alexander had been married to her late husband, Coleman Alexander, for almost 38 years. Coleman, 59, a longtime smoker, died in 1996 of lung cancer.
The case is one of thousands filed in Florida after the state Supreme Court in 2006 tossed out a $145 billion class action verdict. That ruling also said smokers and their families need only prove addiction and that smoking caused their illnesses or deaths.
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