February 11, 2008

The tobacco company's victory at the U.S. Supreme Court level has done it surprisingly little good in fending off the underlying $70 million-plus Oregon award, writes Howard Bashman: "For better or worse, the Supreme Court of Oregon's recent ruling [upholding the award] has likely transformed this case into an unattractive vehicle for U.S. Supreme Court review on the substantive due process question of the unconstitutional excessiveness of punitive damages."