Lawsuit Against Cigarette Firms Reinstated

Philip Morris Cos., the world’s largest tobacco company, and other U.S. cigarette makers will again face a lawsuit by an Ohio smoker’s widow who says the companies are responsible for her husband’s death. The ruling by the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati reverses a lower court’s decision to throw out the suit. The district court had said that Jocelyn Tompkin’s claims were barred under the Ohio Products Liability Act. The appellate court found that Ohio’s law still allows breach of implied warranty claims, one of the legal theories being pressed by Tompkin. Tompkin’s husband, David, began smoking in 1950 when he was 16. In a 15-year span, until he quit smoking in 1965, David Tompkin smoked assorted cigarettes including Marlboro, Chesterfield, Pall Mall and Camels. Tompkin was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1992 and filed suit in 1994. Jocelyn Tompkin continued the suit in 1996 after her husband died. Representatives from New York-based Philip Morris couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. The ruling comes in the wake of a Florida jury’s verdict awarding $145 billion in punitive damages against the tobacco industry in favor of a class of Florida smokers. Philip Morris shares fell 81 cents to close at $25.19 on the NYSE.