← Older revision
Revision as of 20:58, 17 June 2013
Line 4:
Line 4:
Category: Tort cases
Category: Tort cases
−
On June 11, 2013, the [[Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court|Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court]] overturned part of a landmark $152 million verdict in the case of ''Evans v. Lorillard''. In an 82-page ruling, the court found the instructions provided to the jury in the [[Massachusetts Superior Courts|Suffolk County Superior Court]] case were not adequate. The decision, written by Justice [Ralph D. Gants], stated, ". . .we vacate the award of punitive damages because it may have been tainted by the errors regarding the theories of negligent design and marketing and the breach of a voluntarily undertaken duty, and we remand the case for a new trial on the issue of punitive damages."
+
On June 11, 2013, the [[Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court|Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court]] overturned part of a landmark $152 million verdict in the case of ''Evans v. Lorillard''. In an 82-page ruling, the court found the instructions provided to the jury in the [[Massachusetts Superior Courts|Suffolk County Superior Court]] case were not adequate. The decision, written by Justice
[
[Ralph D. Gants
]
], stated, ". . .we vacate the award of punitive damages because it may have been tainted by the errors regarding the theories of negligent design and marketing and the breach of a voluntarily undertaken duty, and we remand the case for a new trial on the issue of punitive damages."
Although the jury's punitive damage award of $81 million was overturned, the high court upheld the jury's awards for compensatory damages. The lawsuit was brought by Willie Evans, on behalf of his mother's estate. After a 14 day trial before Judge [[Elizabeth M. Fahey]], the jury found the tobacco company liable for marketing their products to children and for failing to warn Marie Evans about the health risks of smoking cigarettes. They awarded compensatory damages totaling $71 million; $50 million for the estate of Marie Evans and $21 million for Willie Evans.
Although the jury's punitive damage award of $81 million was overturned, the high court upheld the jury's awards for compensatory damages. The lawsuit was brought by Willie Evans, on behalf of his mother's estate. After a 14 day trial before Judge [[Elizabeth M. Fahey]], the jury found the tobacco company liable for marketing their products to children and for failing to warn Marie Evans about the health risks of smoking cigarettes. They awarded compensatory damages totaling $71 million; $50 million for the estate of Marie Evans and $21 million for Willie Evans.
−
During the trial, jurors heard a statement taped three weeks before Marie Evans' death. In it, she explained how she became addicted to cigarettes by the age of 13. Lorillard, the manufacturer of Newport mentholated cigarettes, regularly distributed samples of their products to children in playgrounds and around the neighborhood near the Orchard Park Housing Project in Roxbury, Massachusetts.
Evans
recalled receiving her first cigarette, a free sample, when she was nine years old. She smoked one and a half packs a day for 20 years. Evans previously suffered a heart attack and claims she tried to quit smoking more than 50 times. She was 54 when she died of lung cancer in 2002.
+
During the trial, jurors heard a statement taped three weeks before Marie Evans' death. In it, she explained how she became addicted to cigarettes by the age of 13. Lorillard, the manufacturer of Newport mentholated cigarettes, regularly distributed samples of their products to children in playgrounds and around the neighborhood near the Orchard Park Housing Project
where Evans lived
in Roxbury, Massachusetts.
She
recalled receiving her first cigarette, a free sample, when she was nine years old. She smoked one and a half packs a day for 20 years. Evans previously suffered a heart attack and claims she tried to quit smoking more than 50 times. She was 54 when she died of lung cancer in 2002.
The Supreme Court agreed with the lower court's findings that Newport cigarettes were defective products. In the past, tobacco companies argued their products could not be considered defective because cigarettes are "inherently dangerous". Plaintiffs argued Lorillard could have reduced the levels of nicotine in their cigarettes to make them safer and less addictive. Evans' attorneys also provided evidence at trial to show Lorillard wanted smokers to keep buying their cigarettes, so the company manipulated the amounts of nicotine in their cigarettes to keep people addicted. An expert at the trial testified, ". . .Once people become regular, daily smokers, what keeps them smoking is nicotine addiction. . ."
The Supreme Court agreed with the lower court's findings that Newport cigarettes were defective products. In the past, tobacco companies argued their products could not be considered defective because cigarettes are "inherently dangerous". Plaintiffs argued Lorillard could have reduced the levels of nicotine in their cigarettes to make them safer and less addictive. Evans' attorneys also provided evidence at trial to show Lorillard wanted smokers to keep buying their cigarettes, so the company manipulated the amounts of nicotine in their cigarettes to keep people addicted. An expert at the trial testified, ". . .Once people become regular, daily smokers, what keeps them smoking is nicotine addiction. . ."
−
−
Lorillard argued reducing the levels of nicotine in their cigarettes would cause them to lose money. Smokers wouldn't buy a cigarette that didn't provide enough nicotine to satisfy their nicotine addiction. Evans' attorneys also provided evidence at trial to show Lorillard wanted smokers to keep buying their cigarettes, so the company manipulated the amounts of nicotine in their cigarettes to keep people addicted. Evans' attorneys also provided evidence at trial to show Lorillard wanted smokers to keep buying their cigarettes, so the company manipulated the amounts of nicotine in their cigarettes to keep people addicted.
Lorillard is the third largest manufacturer of cigarettes in the United States.
Lorillard is the third largest manufacturer of cigarettes in the United States.