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Major
Tobacco Litigation Conference
Boston --- A Los Angeles jury has returned a verdict in the compensatory damages phase of Bullock v. Philip Morris, Inc., finding the cigarette giant liable for Ms. Bullock's lung cancer and awarding $850,000 in compensatory damages. The jury began deliberations on Monday morning, September 23rd. On Tuesday, October 1, the same jury will return to decide how much in punitive damages Philip Morris should pay as a punishment for its reprehensible conduct. Plaintiffs have yet to lose an individual tobacco trial in California. In November, the Tobacco Products Liability Project will host a conference in San Francisco for attorneys who are setting their sites on Philip Morris and other cigarette manufacturers featuring Mike Piuze, Madelyn Chaber, Chuck Tauman, and others who have contributed to a six plaintiffs' verdicts without a single loss on the West Coast since 1999.
Commentary Northeastern University law professor Richard Daynard, who is also Chair of the Tobacco Products Liability Project (TPLP), noted that "we have seen an extraordinary change in the public's perception of tobacco companies and their behavior in the last few years as evidenced by 6 consecutive plaintiffs' verdicts on the West Coast. Incredibly enough this comes at the same time that Philip Morris has spent hundreds of millions of dollars attempting to rehabilitate its public image." TPLP attorney Mark Gottlieb noted that "California attorneys who are encouraged by this string of verdicts will be attending TPLP's 19th Tobacco Litigation Conference in San Francisco November 22-24 where Mike Piuze and his team, among others, will share their secrets to success against the tobacco industry." Edward Sweda, TPLP's Senior Attorney, observed that this is the first trial since the California Supreme Court eliminated most tobacco industry immunity in California with the exception of a 10 year window from 1987-1998. ``This shows that a talented and capable attorney is able to present a winning case in California without evidence from this 10 year conduct exemption.
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