A jury awarded more than $12.5 million to a man who claimed decades of smoking caused his lung disease and emphysema.
John Rizzuto, then 46, was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 1994. He claimed he started smoking Liggett cigarettes in 1961 at 13, then smoked Philip Morris cigarettes until 2000 when he quit smoking. The plaintiff’s tobacco expert testified industry executives during media appearances made statements that were clearly contrary to the information contained in internal documents regarding cigarettes and their addictive nature.
