TAMPA - A Hillsborough jury this week awarded $240,000 to a smoker who said defective cigarettes sold by Philip Morris USA caused his lung cancer.
Jurors on Thursday returned a $600,000 verdict after a two-week trial. But they reduced that figure by 60 percent after deciding Ron Arnitz shared the blame for his smoking.
The verdict is the fourth against Big Tobacco in Tampa Bay area courts. The largest verdict was $3.2-million awarded to a Pinellas smoker in 2003.
Unlike many tobacco trials, Arnitz's case didn't hinge on allegations that a tobacco company tried to hide knowledge of the danger of smoking. Instead, Arnitz's attorney presented a simple product liability case.
Attorney Howard Acosta told jurors the method used to cure the tobacco, with propane, made the carcinogen found in the cigarettes 10 times more potent. He argued the addictive nature of the cigarettes made them defective.
Arnitz, 57, whose lawyers had not asked jurors for specific damages, said he was disappointed the award was not higher. But Arnitz, a smoker since he was 14, said he felt vindicated.
"I felt like I deserved more for what I suffered," said Arnitz, a Clearwater resident who said he is now cancer free. "If I had known back when I started smoking what I know now, I would never have touched a cigarette."
Philip Morris said it would appeal the verdict.
"We presented evidence that there is no safe cigarette, and the plaintiff's witnesses agreed," said William S. Ohlemeyer, Philip Morris USA vice president and associate general counsel. "We frankly believe this verdict was based on erroneous legal rulings and improper jury instructions, and that should form the basis of a successful appeal."
Acosta is the one who alerted Arnitz to his potential health problem.
In early 2000, Acosta visited a Hillsborough furniture store where Arnitz was manager to buy a leather sofa and love seat. As Arnitz completed the sales receipt, Acosta noticed he had clubbed fingers, red and bulbous.
He told Arnitz to see a doctor because clubbed fingers could be a symptom of a lung disease. Arnitz saw a doctor, who confirmed Acosta's suspicions.
"It's a good thing he went," said Acosta. "If he had waited any longer, he would have died."
