Court: Could damages violate Constitution?

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court may decide if a $79.5 million punitive damages award for a smoker's wife is so big it violates the Constitution, the chief justice said.

Chief Justice John Roberts raised the possibility after the Oregon Supreme Court twice failed to follow U.S. Supreme Court rulings that ordered the damages against Altria Group Inc.'s Philip Morris USA be brought into compliance with recent high court rulings restricting the size of punitive damage awards.

After the Oregon Supreme Court declined to change its decision for a second time, lawyers for the cigarette maker petitioned the high court to "vindicate" its authority.

Several justices responded Wednesday that maybe, on retrospect, Oregon was correct in brushing aside the orders to reconsider the award. But Roberts said this brought up the importance of protecting the Supreme Court's "constitutional authority" to ensure its rulings were followed.

He said that if the justices decided an award could be so big it violates constitutional due process, the state courts couldn't raise new grounds to keep the $79.5 million award intact, USA Today reported.

The lawsuit against Philip Morris was brought by Mayola Williams, a smoker's wife whose husband, Jesse, smoked three packs of Marlboro brand cigarettes a day and died of lung cancer in 1997.

A state jury awarded Williams $821,485 in actual damages and $79.5 million in punitive damages.