A US court has ordered the country's second largest
cigarette company to pay $23.6 billion (£13.8bn) to the
wife of a smoker who died of lung cancer.
RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company was hit with the punitive fine in
addition to $16.8m (£9.8m) in compensatory damages.
Cynthia Robinson took action against the firm in 2008, seeking
compensation for her husband's death in 1996.
A company official said the verdict was ``grossly excessive and
impermissible under state and constitutional law.''
During the four-week trial, lawyers for Ms Robinson argued that RJ
Reynolds was negligent in informing consumers of the dangers of
consuming tobacco.
This negligence, the lawyers said, led to her husband Michael
Johnson Sr contracting lung cancer from smoking after becoming
"addicted" and failing multiple attempts to quit.


"RJ Reynolds took a calculated risk by manufacturing cigarettes and
selling them to consumers without properly informing them of the
hazards," Ms Robinson's lawyer Willie Gary said.
"We hope that this verdict will send a message to RJ Reynolds and
other big tobacco companies that will force them to stop putting the
lives of innocent people in jeopardy," he added.
RJ Reynolds plans to appeal against the court's decision, vice
president and assistant general counsel Jeffery Raborn said in a
statement.
"This verdict goes far beyond the realm of reasonableness and
fairness, and is completely inconsistent with the evidence presented,"
he said.
``We plan to file post-trial motions with the trial court promptly, and
are confident that the court will follow the law and not allow this
runaway verdict to stand.''
The punitive damages awarded to Ms Robinson were said to be the
largest of any individual case stemming from a class action lawsuit
filed in Florida.
Several similar cases have resulted in smaller payouts after the
state's highest court ruled that smokers and their families only had to
prove addiction and that smoking caused their illness.

http://m.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-28389273

Hmmmm that Judge must be high on tobacco..


But on the brighter side, even with the appeal,that woman Is getting something big from this case.

Only in America, I repeat Only in America..

Lol. A whooping $23 billion? How much is the company sef?

maybe the judge indirectly sold out the company

It's the jury that came out with the verdict......If we had same justice system in naija a lot of people would have been millionaires by now