A state court jury in St. Louis handed the tobacco industry a resounding win April 29, finding that the cigarette makers are not liable for hospitals’ costs associated with treating sick smokers.
The verdict, coming 13 years after the suit was filed, was a triumph for Philip Morris USA Inc.’s trial counsel Diane Sullivan of Dechert, who delivered closing arguments, as well as for counsel for six other firms representing industry defendants. On the losing end was Kenneth Brostron of St. Louis’s Lashly & Baer, lead trial counsel for the plaintiffs.
