FLORIDA JURY DECIDES IN FAVOR OF FAMILY OF DEAD SMOKER

JACKSONVILLE, Florida (AP) -- A jury Wednesday found in favor of a family of
a cigarette smoker, ruling that Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. was
negligent and must pay at least $500,000 for the man's death.

The family of Roland Maddox had claimed that he contracted lung cancer in
the fall of 1996 after smoking Lucky Strike cigarettes for almost 50 years.
Maddox died in May 1997 at age 67.

The jury awarded $500,000 in actual damages to the Maddox family and was to
return to deliberations and decide on punitive damages.

Jurors, who began deliberations Tuesday morning, agreed with the Maddox
family lawyers' argument that the company was negligent, made a defective
product and conspired with other tobacco companies to hide the health risks
of smoking from the public.

"Don't let them get away with it," Norwood Wilner, an attorney representing
the Maddox family, had said in closing arguments Monday.

The four-week trial was Wilner's fourth trial against tobacco companies.

In 1996, a Jacksonville jury awarded Grady Carter, a smoker with lung
cancer, a judgment of $750,000 from Brown & Williamson. That case is still
on appeal. After that, Wilner lost two cases against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

Maddox began smoking at age 16 and smoked about two packs a day before
quitting in 1995. He was diagnosed with cancer a year later.

John Nyhan, an attorney for Brown & Williamson, said the company should not
be held liable for Maddox's personal choice.

"I hope you will ask yourself whether it isn't wrong to be using our justice
system to get rich," he said. "Isn't it wrong to be trying to get a lot of
money by blaming others when something unfortunate happens?"

In depositions, Maddox's co-workers at a grocery store said he enjoyed
smoking, laughed at health risks and called cigarettes "coffin nails,"
company lawyers had said.

Liggett Group, Inc. also was a defendant in this case because Maddox smoked
one of its brands of cigarettes for a few years. A settlement for an
undisclosed amount was reached with the company during jury selection.

Checked-by: Melodi Cornett