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WASHINGTON — Ten years and a day after a jury awarded Mayola Williams nearly $80 million in punitive damages in her fight with a cigarette-maker, the Supreme Court said Tuesday she can collect her share.
The court threw out the appeal of that award by Altria Group Inc.’s Philip Morris USA, frustrating the efforts of business interests that hoped to use this case to get the court to set constitutional limits on damages awarded by juries.
Williams stands to collect between $60 million and $65 million from a pot that has grown to more than $155 million because of accrued interest.
In a one-sentence order, the court left in place a ruling by the Oregon Supreme Court.
