Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Jury in tobacco trial awards widow $29M

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A Broward County jury on Thursday handed down a $29.1 million verdict to a widow who said her husband started smoking as a teenager.
Connie Buonomo, 77, of Hollywood, said the decision to sue had little to do with recouping losses. She wants to punish R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., the corporation she blames for her husband's death.

"I don't feel they've ever been honest," said Buonomo, whose husband, Matthew, died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 2008. He was 80.

Buonomo's attorneys at the Kelley/Uustal firm in Fort Lauderdale said that because of the expected appeal, it's unknown when Buonomo and her family will receive any money if they prevail in the case.



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