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

Clinton McClure

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Only in America are people rewarded for not only their cunning stupidity, but their knowledge of and pride in that said stupidity. That's it. I'm gonna sue Pepsi-Cola because I'm addicted to the caffiene in Mountain Dew and I'm sure it's destroying my kidneys, but..it's my body and I can treat it as I damn well please. While I'm at it, I think I'll also sue Ron and Parker because the HTF takes time out of my busy day when I can (and probably should) be doing more constructive things the two hours I'm at home.
:rolleyes:This is exactly the kind of mindless bullshit that makes the legal system so screwed up. But the sad part is, if I really pushed trivial cases like this, I could have a good chance of winning.
Don't worry Ron and Parker - You guys are OK in my book. :emoji_thumbsup:
 

Paul_D

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Am I missing something? In the article it claims she was awarded $750,000 for damages and $100,000 for pain. Where did the $28billion come from? and on what grounds can an amount that high be awarded to a single person?
 

Dominik Droscher

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Paul, there was a discussion about this recently. In the US legal system the punitive damages a company has to pay according to its wealth (the tabacco industry is very wealthy) go to the plaintiff. This is something I don't understand and which supports the extensive misuse of the legal system.

The 850,000 $ are the recompensation costs. As this won't hurt the industry much, it is possible to declare punitive damage penalties which are as I stated dependant on the wealth of the indictee. This does make sense, but as I said in the thread earlier those punitive damages should not go the the plaintiff.
 

Julian Reville

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"Hi, honey, how was your day?"

"Great! I screwed the tobacco companies out of $28 billion today!"

"Good, good; did you remember to pick up some smokes on your way home?"
 

SteveA

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How much would the woman's lawyer get if this settlement amount holds up? If it's the standard 1/3, that's over $9 billion dollars!
 

Seth Paxton

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She made all the choices to get cancer, no one forced her to smoke.
How much do I get from her when I sue her for knowingly trying to kill me with 2nd hand smoke?
I know she's sitting on quite a pile. I can appreciate a lawsuit income as much as she can.
I got Johnny C. already to go...
"If Seth's lungs are black, she must give the money back." :D
 

Steve Enemark

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Well, let's assume that second-hand smoke is one-thousandth as bad as normal smoke. So do the rest of us get $28 million?
 

Kevin M

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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?
In a way I agree with this...
On the other hand at the very same time all the major cigarette companies were printing this message on the sides of every pack of cigarettes they were in court saying "cigarettes are not bad for your heath"....
 

Dominik Droscher

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I think the point is missed in this discussion. :) She did not get the 28 billion $ as compensation, she got 850,000$ for that. But as the 850,000 are a peanut for the powerful tabacco industry, the jury said that they had to add the 28 billion as punitive damages, to really hurt it. That the 28 billion go to the plaintiff (and her lawyers) is just because of the U.S. legal system (which I consider flawed in this point as I already stated).
So, Steve, you would only get 850$ for compensation as a second hand smoker. ;)
 

Clinton McClure

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Dominik - Exactly who should the payout of punitive damages go to if not the plantiff and exactly why should they receive it?
 

Dominik Droscher

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Dominik - Exactly who should the payout of punitive damages go to if not the plantiff and exactly why should they receive it?
Difficult question, this was also discussed recently in this topic. It shouldn't go to the plaintiff as this is what leads to the extensive exploitation of the US legal system. Who should get the money? The easy answer would be that the government could sack it but with exact obligation how the money is to be used.
Let me say that I am in favor of punitive damages, something that is missing in the german legal system. An interesting article about a recent case which deals with this problem can be found here.
 

Graeme Clark

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Almost makes me want to take up smoking. Just think of the gear you could buy.

Actually, I've decided to stick my finger in an electrical socket and sue the power company. Sorry guys, but you may start seeing warning labels all over your house soon.
 

Clinton McClure

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Why would this happen? Unless specifically named as plantiff, the government is not part of the suit, and thus has no legal right to receive money from such an action unless specified by the plantiff. We get pretty frivolous giving away other peoples' money, but giving it to someone not involved (IE: the government) makes no sense. Its unethical for the government to dip into a private citizen's court awarded winnings when they have no relevance to the case. That's like saying you win a lawsuit, and I receive the punitive damages even though I have nothing to do with the suit.
 

Dominik Droscher

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Clinton, I understand the dilemma and this is why i added "exact obligation" so that the money is not put into the arms industry or anything unrelated. In this case it would make sense to give the money to science funds like cancer research or use it for anti-smoking campaigns. It won't be easy to decide what to do with the money or even who makes the decision (Jury or Judge?).
 

Charles J P

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My opinion on this cannot be formed without more information. It depends on how long the lady has been smoking. We have to remember that the tobacco industry has not always been as forthcoming about the dangers of smoking. I don't think the surgeon generals warning was on a pack of cigarettes in 1950. Also, I believe that cigarette companies used to add additional nicotine to cigarettes to make people become addicted in a shorter amount of time. Also, as in the other thread here, I agree that punitive damages SHOULD go to the plaintiff, and that's the way it works right now, whether you think its ridiculous or not.
 

Brian Perry

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Also, I believe that cigarette companies used to add additional nicotine to cigarettes to make people become addicted in a shorter amount of time.
The problem with this statement is that is can be applied to countless companies in various industries. The trans-fatty acids in doughnuts are supposed to be terrible for you. Same goes for french fries. Should McDonald's be prohibited from adding extra fat to their products if it will give them more business?

If cigarettes were an illegal product, that would be another story, but I just don't see how you can punish one industry when there are many others selling products that are not necessarily the best for our health.
 

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