OCTOBER 4, 2002

Those silly people in California...

A Los Angeles jury has ordered Ferrari sponsor Philip Morris - the owner of the Marlboro brand - to pay $28 billion in punitive damages to a 64-year-old woman with lung cancer who blamed her tobacco addiction on the company's

failure to warn her of the risks of smoking. The same jury last week found Philip Morris liable for fraud, negligence and products liability claims in the lawsuit brought by Betty Bullock of Newport Beach, California, and awarded her $850,000 in compensation.

The tobacco company is expected to appeal the absurd award, which is without doubt the largest punitive damages awarded in a tobacco liability lawsuit.