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Constitutional Law Keyed to Choper
Philip Morris USA v. Williams
Citation:
549 U.S. 346 (2007)Facts
Jesse Williams, a heavy cigarette smoker, died from smoking-related illness. His widow, representing his estate, sued Philip Morris, the manufacturer of Marlboro cigarettes, for negligence and deceit. Evidence showed Williams smoked in significant part because he believed it was safe to do so, and that Philip Morris knowingly and falsely led him to believe this. At trial, plaintiff’s attorney urged the jury to consider how many other Oregon smokers had been harmed by Philip Morris’s conduct. The jury found Philip Morris liable and awarded $821,000 in compensatory damages and $79.5 million in punitive damages. Philip Morris requested a jury instruction specifying that while jurors could consider harm to others in determining reprehensibility, they could not punish the defendant for harm to nonparties. The trial court rejected this instruction. Philip Morris appealed, arguing that the award violated due process because it punished the company for harming nonparty victims and was grossly excessive given the roughly 100-to-1 ratio between punitive and compensatory damages.
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