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Philip Morris USA v. Williams
Citation:
127 S. Ct. 1057 (2007)Facts
Plaintiff represents a woman who died from the effects of long term cigarette smoking. Defendant manufactured the deceased’s preferred brand of cigarettes. In earlier proceedings, a jury found the defendant guilty of negligence, and awarded, among other damages, 79.5 million dollars of punitive damages, which was then reduced by half on appeal. Both sides appeal the question of whether the jury was properly instructed regarding the award of damages as it relates to people not a party to the litigation.
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