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U.S. Supreme Court,
Constitutional Law

Jul. 24, 2014

That's $23.6 billion — with a 'b'

A lawsuit against R.J. Reynolds recently resulted in an astronomical jury verdict against the tobacco company, but it won't last.

Charles S. Doskow

Dean Emeritus and Professor of Law
University of La Verne College of Law

Email: dosklaw@aol.com

Harvard Law School

Charles is a past president of the Inland Empire Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, and in 2012 was awarded the chapter's Erwin Chemerinsky Defender of the Constitution award.

See more...

Michael Johnson, Sr., a Florida resident, was a faithful chain smoker of Kool cigarettes from the age of 13 until his death from lung cancer at the age of 36. His widow's suit against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company resulted, last week, in a jury verdict against the tobacco company of $23.6 billion dollars. That's "billion" with a "b."

The jury was apparently strongly influenced by evidence of the company's conduct in denying the health effects of smoking. Johnson's widow introduce...

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