Calling all lawyers!

[LordAnubis]

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2014/07/us-widow-wins-236bn-tobacco-payout-201472004712110239.html

Gotta love the good ol US of A. Yay for freedom

Who wants to volunteer to fake die so we can sue for muchos dinero and then we can all split the profits and buy muchos habanos.

I imagine we can get many lifetimes of cigars with 23.6 billion dollars.

So, who can we sue? Which company has the most money?

PS: Just to be clear it is a shame about her loss, don't mean any disrespect to her or the family, this is purely legal/political/company focussed satire.

[soutso]

They should take 23million on appeal and RUN

[Ken Gargett]

by chance, 'runaway jury' is on tv this evening.

"Johnson smoked up to 60 cigarettes a day for more 20 years and died of lung cancer in 1996 aged 36." so a 15 year old kid is smoking more than 60 a day???

no possibility it won't get knocked way back on appeal and no possibility that the jury doesn't know that. i read elsewhere where the widow was truly stunned by the decision.

that said, i really have no problem with cigarette companies getting the absolute crap sued out of them. no sympathy.

[mncz]

Who marries a "20-year" 3-pack-a-day smoker in today's world? At 36? Wild statistics.

[DoubleDD]

In America, we are starting to shift to a nation of no personal accountability. It's always someone else's fault. The younger generation is absolutely the worst at it. In my job, the newer hires always blame someone or something else. It's a shame.

[ogus]

yep moral relativism and entitlement will do what enemies from without could not

[Maplepie]

In America, we are starting to shift to a nation of no personal accountability. It's always someone else's fault. The younger generation is absolutely the worst at it. In my job, the newer hires always blame someone or something else. It's a shame.

whilst i agree with this due to the 'American Exceptionalism' epidemic, sometimes punitive damages is necessary for a company to regulate. if they won't do it (and they sure won't), it's up to the public to keep them in check.

this story will just get blown up by the media looking for something to do in the summer heat.

i mean, who remembers that old lady who spilled coffee on her lap and sued for ~8 million dollars? and then the media's witch hunt after that which caused a terrible cap in maximum punitive damages?

[earthson]

My main beefs with cigarettes (other than lack of refined flavor):

• The package is manufactured to fit comfortably in the greatest amount of people's hands
• Their short size invites repeated smoking (really - was that 5 minutes that relaxing?)
• The tobacco is not fermented - resulting in a lower (more acidic) pH
• Mainstream brands are sprayed with up to 2000 (!) chemicals - some flavorings, some preservatives, some cough suppressants, others of unknown function
• Some of the main tobacco-growing regions (Virginia, Turkey) have utilized phosphate fertilizers which were found to contain trace levels of Americium (a radioactive metal)
• Despite repeated court decisions which found large tobacco manufacturers guilty of suppressing data regarding negative health effects, they continue to operate with impunity

Yes, sir - it's cigars for me! I experience none of the compulsiveness, don't have to smoke them every day, and the fermentation process seems to make the tobacco much less abrasive to my throat/mouth.

[laficion]

!!!!!!!!!

[Philski]

To be fair, there's nothing in this ad that's misleading.

But the entire cigarette industry borders on the evil - not necessarily in an active sense, but certain decisions must surely have been made by yes-men, or truths were buried, or decision makers misled... it's a corporate crime that has lasted for decades and continues due to the power of money, influence and lobbying.

Hm? Oh, about 10-a-day these days. Yup, I know, I'm f*cked.

[Maplepie]

know what the best weight loss material?

Meth! when did you last see a fat guy on meth (Rob Ford doesn't count...)

[perkinke]

In America, we are starting to shift to a nation of no personal accountability. It's always someone else's fault. The younger generation is absolutely the worst at it. In my job, the newer hires always blame someone or something else. It's a shame.

This annoys me to no end, who exactly taught the "younger generation" this attitude? Is my parents generation (I'm 36) of the slogans "do what feels good," "don't worry be happy," "don't trust anyone over 30," "Tune in, turn on, and drop out," and currently, a personal favorite, "get your government hands off my medicare" really so much better? Who exactly started this cult of lawsuits and dodging responsibility in the 80's and 90's? (give you a hint, it wasn't the "younger generation" who may not have even been born yet) And what is this blaming of the younger generation other than a dodge of personal responsibility for not teaching them correctly? they learned the behavior from somewhere, wonder where that was.... While I agree we have gone too far from taking responsibility for our actions, it isn't recent, it started in the 1970's and 80's (take a note of the people's ages in this story: the deceased was born in 1960 and I can virtually guarantee you the average age of the jury was over 50, given my person experience as a jury manager and court clerk and the fact that it was in Florida).

Back directly on topic, I didn't have a problem with the lawsuits from folks who started smoking pre-1960's when the cigarette companies got away with telling folks it was healthy, but if they started smoking after as late as 1980 then they knew what it would do and have no excuse.

[Ken Gargett]

certain decisions must surely have been made by yes-men, or truths were buried, or decision makers misled... it's a corporate crime that has lasted for decades and continues due to the power of money, influence and lobbying.

i'd say that is pretty "active".

[DoubleDD]

This annoys me to no end, who exactly taught the "younger generation" this attitude? Is my parents generation (I'm 36) of the slogans "do what feels good," "don't worry be happy," "don't trust anyone over 30," "Tune in, turn on, and drop out," and currently, a personal favorite, "get your government hands off my medicare" really so much better? Who exactly started this cult of lawsuits and dodging responsibility in the 80's and 90's? (give you a hint, it wasn't the "younger generation" who may not have even been born yet) And what is this blaming of the younger generation other than a dodge of personal responsibility for not teaching them correctly? they learned the behavior from somewhere, wonder where that was.... While I agree we have gone too far from taking responsibility for our actions, it isn't recent, it started in the 1970's and 80's (take a note of the people's ages in this story: the deceased was born in 1960 and I can virtually guarantee you the average age of the jury was over 50, given my person experience as a jury manager and court clerk and the fact that it was in Florida).

Back directly on topic, I didn't have a problem with the lawsuits from folks who started smoking pre-1960's when the cigarette companies got away with telling folks it was healthy, but if they started smoking after as late as 1980 then they knew what it would do and have no excuse.

I'm also in my mid thirties so I'm not blaming anyone directly but we need to start reversing this process somewhere. I agree that the younger generations learned it from somewhere else. Right now the teens and twenties exhibit this quality the worst. It's all about "me" to them. Those adults in their forties, fifties, sixties, and older should have corrected the issue because it has only gotten worse. It's a slippery slope and it has to be changed somewhere, complacency doesn't cut it. We can point fingers all day but if we don't change it, the practice only gets worse. By issuing a billion dollar decision they are hoping to send a message, more than likely it won't. We all make free choices and know the consequences. I know by smoking cigars and drinking it could lead to health concerns. The only people that should be excused for making decisions and not taking into account the consequences of those decisions are children.

[cigcars]

Well I'm sure any enterprising folks out there can take up the offers from Dewey, Cheatham, and Howe and jump on the bandwagon - as long as it's represented on contingency...

[El Presidente]

I seriously hate lawyers....until I need one

[HarveyBoulevard]

I seriously hate lawyers....until I need one

I hear that every day! Usually whilst resting between ambulance chases.

[HarveyBoulevard]

I seriously hate lawyers....until I need one

I hear that every day! Usually whilst resting between ambulance chases.

[earthson]

know what the best weight loss material?

Meth! when did you last see a fat guy on meth (Rob Ford doesn't count...)

Home-made, locally-sourced, organic, free-range meth

[...]

know what the best weight loss material?

Meth! when did you last see a fat guy on meth (Rob Ford doesn't count...)

I thought Rob Ford's poison was crack cocain, which has little to do with meth.... both cracker selections though

[Maplepie]

Home-made, locally-sourced, organic, free-range meth

FREE RANGE!!! OH BOY, THAT'S RICH.

I thought Rob Ford's poison was crack cocain, which has little to do with meth....

oh yeah. but after a while, we just start associating every drug with him. One of his golden quotes was:

'You name it, I've abused it.'

I have sources to back up this claim, too! Here. Here. Here. And Here.

[...]

Home-made, locally-sourced, organic, free-range meth

Is it also fair trade?

[earthson]

To be fair, there's nothing in this ad that's misleading.

Misleading? A suggestion that I can maintain (or obtain) a slender figure with an addictive substance that is a known cancer-causing agent sounds like I'm being misled. While not an untruth, I'd like to hear what a nutritionist or oncologist would have to say.

I surely don't smoke cigars to keep a slim figure!

[earthson]

Home-made, locally-sourced, organic, free-range meth

Is it also fair trade?

I've lived in rural Tennessee. I don't know how fair the trades are when they're purchased with lucre obtained from selling stolen copper. I guess buyer and seller are happy?

[rtrimbath]

Wait, wait, wait... cigarettes are bad for you?!?