Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Will Huge Judgment Against Tobacco Giant Hold Up?

Aired June 07, 2001 - 08:02   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN ANCHOR: OK, inhale, exhale, and imagine nine smoke rings. Just think of them as zeros. We begin this hour in Los Angeles, where a jury has awarded a sick smoker $3 billion in a judgment against cigarette maker Philip Morris.

Fifty-six-year old cancer victim Richard Boeken still smokes. He's been given six months to a year to live. Boeken's attorney says his client managed to kick his heroin habit and alcohol addiction. But he could not kick cigarettes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL PIUZE, BOEKEN ATTORNEY: They're liars. They've lied for 50 years. They put their economic well being over the lives of 14 million; 14 million American people have died of cigarette-related diseases since 1964. And they lied and lied, lied and lied and lied. And now in 2001, Philip Morris finally admitted that their tobacco causes lung cancer after lying about it for 14 million deaths. As far as I'm concerned, this verdict could have been 10 times as big and it wouldn't be enough.

MAURICE LEITER, PHILIP MORRIS ATTORNEY: We recognize Philip Morris is an unpopular company. It makes a dangerous product. But, clearly, the evidence does not support this verdict. The evidence does not support a verdict that Mr. Boeken was unaware of the risks, ignored the mountain of information about the health risks that was available to him and relied on what he claims he heard from Philip Morris. We don't think the evidence supports the verdict. And we'll be appealing the verdict.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCEDWARDS: Well, Roger Cossack has been looking into this award: $3 billion in punitive damages, plus $5 million in compensatory damages.

He joins us now from Washington with more on this -- a huge award, Roger, but how important is this?

ROGER COSSACK, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, it certainly sends a signal to Philip Morris and to other tobacco companies that their liability is far from over. Here's what the problem that Philip Morris and all tobacco companies face in these cases. You know, for years, they told us that nicotine was not addictive. And, in fact, the FDA -- or, in fact, the courts have never really said that nicotine is addictive. But it is to -- that nicotine is addictive so that the FDA can monitor it.

But it is a very, very, very addictive drug. And this turns out that the cigarette and the tobacco companies not only were putting -- adding nicotine to the product, but they were, in some cases, even juicing up the amount of nicotine in the cigarettes.

MCEDWARDS: And yet the...

COSSACK: Well, people find that out and juries find that out. And they make them pay for it.

MCEDWARDS: Right. And yet the tobacco company says: Look, this jury was obviously mistaken and obviously was deciding some other case. Does that sound like their basis for appeal?

COSSACK: Their basis for appeal is basically going to be that this is an excessive judgment, that this is a windfall to the defendant. Their argument that, in fact, he knew about all of these bad sides of cigarettes and failed to do anything about it, I don't think that that's going to be particularly persuasive in light of the fact that the tobacco companies have, for a number of years, apparently not been as forthcoming as they should have about the properties of nicotine.

The other -- the issue, though, of how much money this man is entitled to, $3 billion, that is certainly a question that I think a review in court will take a look at, as even perhaps even the judge in this case. But it clearly sends out a signal that there are places in this country where tobacco companies are highly liable.

MCEDWARDS: Well, Roger, you remember the Florida verdict that everybody thought was so huge. This one sort of makes it look like nothing. I mean, what does this say about the tobacco companies overall litigation strategy in these cases?

COSSACK: Well, you know, historically the tobacco companies do fairly well. Every now and then, they get tagged in a dramatic fashion and we end up on television talking about the enormity of the amount of money.

But tobacco companies usually come in, and their defense is, basically: You know, who didn't know that smoking was bad for you? Did you need us to tell you that nicotine was addictive? I mean, you should have known that. There has been warnings on cigarettes for a number of years. There's been highly -- a great deal of publicity.

But what this man answered and said was: Look, I couldn't quit. I could quit everything else. I quit being an alcoholic or a drinker. I quit heroine. But nicotine was so addictive, I was unable to quit it. And look at what it did -- look what it did for me. You should have told me that nicotine was addictive.

And this jury agreed with him.

MCEDWARDS: All right, Roger Cossack, thanks very much -- appreciate it.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com