Jury awards ex-smoker $28 billion (1 Viewer)

[MickeS]

Yes, that's 28,000 million dollars.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/817143.asp
Of course it'll be appealed, and probably reduced substantially. But who knows, she might get it.
/Mike

 

[FredHD]

Good, suck 'em dry.

 

[MickeS]

All I know is, if I was in the tobacco business I'd get a little worried about the future.

 

[Brian Perry]

No wonder my Phillip Morris stock got hammered today.

On the one hand, Phillip Morris looks like an unbelievably good stock to own. Its P/E ratio is 9 and its dividend yield is 7%.

On the other hand, if you get enough juries to hand out verdicts such as the one today, it could get ugly.

 

[Shawn C]

I love the conflicting statements between the tobacco companies and their own lawyers:
Company: "Cigarettes aren't dangerous!" (Or something like that)
Lawyer after verdict: "This jury should have focused on what the plaintiff knew about the health risks of smoking, and whether anything the company ever said or did improperly influenced her decision to smoke or not to quit,"

 

[Ron-P]

Frivolous BS, she should get nothing. I don't care what cigarette smokers put in their ads. Anyone with any common sense knows that smoking is bad.
She made all the choices to get cancer, no one forced her to smoke.
Peace Out~

 

[Bruce Hedtke]

Summed up my feelings perfectly Ron. I am not a fan of cigarette companies at all, but you really gotta be lacking common sense if after your first three cigarettes, you aren't convinced they are bad for you.

Bruce

 

[BrettB]

Insanity

 

[MikeAlletto]

Yup Ron, thats exactly what I think also. What about all us non-smokers who have to put up with the trash and second hand smoke that the smokers are producing? Can I sue them?

Before Friday, the biggest verdict won by an individual against a tobacco company was $3 billion, awarded in June 2001. Philip Morris was ordered to pay the amount to Richard Boeken, a former heroin addict with cancer who died in January. The verdict was later reduced by a judge to $100 million.

A heroin addict with cancer who died got $100 million! You gotta be kidding me. Oh no, it couldn't have been the heroin (an illegal drug) that he was addicted to that contributed to him dieing...it must have been the tobacco (a legal drug)...unbelievable.

 

[Scooter]

Ron..the more I read what you post here....the more I wish you lived closer! Common sense prevails!!!!!

 

[Maurice McCone]

I am totally against smoking, I have never smoked myself. But I do not support these ridiculous court cases.

There can surely be no-one who is unaware of the dangers of smoking?

I like that idea that non smokers who know this lady should sue her for her secondary smoke polluting their environment.

I have also heard that there is a case going thru the courts of a man suing MacDonalds for making him overwieght, there has to be a way of stopping these cases, we have them over in Britain now as well.

You can just see the fuss this guy would have made if MacDonalds had refused to serve him a Big Mac, as he was obese !

I wish people would take some responsibility for their own behaviour.

 

[Bruce Hedtke]

I wish people would take some responsibility for their own behaviour.

Replace the word "some" with "all" and it would be an even better statement. As it is, it is at the heart of truth. Easier to blame the temptation and those who provide it than to own up to your own responsibilities.

Bruce

 

[Don Black]

I agree that this is complete BS. I can understand the states suing the tobacco companies to recover Medicare/etc. costs. That seems reasonable and makes sense. But these individual lawsuits are just plain silly...

 

[Rob Longmore]

I feel that everyone who sues someone, over something THEY have control over, should be locked up FOR LIFE!! she made the choice to smoke! and now by sueing, she has admited she no longer wants responsablility for her own life, and if YOUR not responsable for your life, then you should not have one!

SHE decided to smoke! NO one forced her! SHE knew the risks! she paid the price of HER decision! no one should be responsable except her! what a fu#ked up world we live in!

 

[CarlS]

Monster verdicts like this never stand up to appeal.

 

[Cam S]

Frivolous BS, she should get nothing. I don't care what cigarette smokers put in their ads. Anyone with any common sense knows that smoking is bad.

Dam rights Ron!!!!

 

[Bill_Weinreich]

Pretty much how I fell when I hear about these DA lawsuits. Did't the Constitution give us a right to a speedy trial? Next to impossible with all this BS crap tying up the system!
Again:
Bill

 

[BrianB]

I have also heard that there is a case going thru the courts of a man suing MacDonalds for making him overwieght, there has to be a way of stopping these cases,

There is. It's called due process. If the case is completely trivial & has no sense behind it, it will get thrown out.
The appeal process is a wonderful thing

 

[Holadem]

Question is though, what are the chances of gathering twelve persons of such remarkably high stupidity, and have them all agree first to guilt, and second to such an ungdly amount of money?

How the hell does that happen and so often?

--
Holadem

 

[Brian Harnish]

Holadem -- It's called "bribery."

Oh COME ON, they're saying that the smoking companies didn't say anything? On EVERY PACK OF CIGARETTES there is SOMETHING called: The Surgeon General's Warning against cigarrette smoking. This is frivolous BS. Surely the jury couldn't be so stupid as to overlook something like that?

When are we finally going to get a decent judge that will laugh these frivolous lawsuits out of court? It's called taking responsibility. I can see that as a civilization, we have a long way to go before we (as a whole) will ever start accepting responsibility for our actions.