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! Cigare~e J..9,rms~'~.n verdict in lawSuit Jury rejetts d~ by, :St7tp ker'S~1NldoW BY'CHOMAS P. tYYMrtN G~ AttOtlOf{dtt"Preif It•IDIANAPOI.IS - A jury yesterday found cigarette cotn- _ panies not responsible for a amok- '_ e's-canms death. a break for a tohr lost a similar swt vs tnontts and faces new Lederal regulations. After delibeszttng 16 iwurs, the statejt¢Y ceJected dam iro"' the widow of Richard Rogas that the companies were to blame for ~addiction tt at began his at age b and ended with his death in 1987 at 52. Tobacco lawyers said Rogers chose to snwke, despite warnings of the potential risks. "We were very strong in our feeling that personal responsibil- ity is very impattant," said /ury foreman David Anderson. "This case is not a case of wficther cigarettes are dangerous." The Rogetavetdici, coming on a day when President Clinton intpoeed historic limits on the tmriteting of agt[ettes m ctul- dren, took on extreme importance as the industry wondered wbeth- er the tide of opaaion in Aiaeriu's cqtaIItsoms has turned aspiast it. Ciaarette makes have toaghoax- _ ed that they've never paid a cent ' in heahh-rrJatexi suits brought by smokets. "We seem to do a little betmr `ax:3J~~ Aug 26 '96 1Q:32 P.37 SEAi7L TtMES AUG 2 4 1996 in courCnattu tnan in newspapery and on tefevision," BtT dhkmeye1, an attorney far m-defendant Pttdip Morris, said after the verdict. A disappointed Yvonne Rogm said the trial served to nise aaare- nea of the danger: of smrdoag, and she doem't betie.m har 6usbutd died in vain. "rm very sotry we've lost th'rs battk," she said. "t don't believe it's theendafthewsragaiastthe tobacco wastryA.E7aridajwy eulier ttiis month ' awarded i750,00(1 to a tnan wto got tung canoer after 44 years of nnoh- ing.It wasonly tbesemnd timea jury has ruled apittat the foduatry. The fust verdict was overturned on ap• Ridurd Day<tard, a law profescor at Northeastetn University in Boston and chairman of the Tobacco Pro- ducts Liability Projert, said yeste:- day's ruling does not rrwn tobacco companies have regained momea- tum in the courts. "You win sane, you kwe some. ThaYs notmal in lawsuita," M said. "It sounds like for whatever reison the plaintig's attorney didn't succeed in driving home the point that dp- rotte campaniea have been lying and deceiving the public, regulators and kids about the addictive ptopetties of their p~nducts fx the last 34 or more yeats. In ctosing arguments of the In• dianapo6s lawsuit, which sought at least 5424.000 in damagea, plrintifl's attorney C. Warren Holland told ju- rors that Rogers was addicted to dgarettes even before the 1964 sur- geon geassal's warning, and that tnbaab companies were aware ag abttg that their product was "unrea- 5002bly dangeroua... Hol}md aho said the companies ahould be held Mqoosible far mak- ing dgmttea sddictive: "Tdia is not just a ha6it." But ehe tr>istmo campettiea said Ropm had cantttued to smaite will- ingty md was tqP to three packe a day, desi*te a public per+cWtioa of dao- gers heiQlrtened by the wtseon gen- enl'a rtpott. WhM a e~ ~ renui.e ~ his dndL why he Itada't stopped anotdng eattier, Rog- ere reaponded. "I reaUy didn't want to qtdt,' Phr7c Mnrzis lawyer Divid Haedy to+d,tenrs. After the verdict, Hardy aaid, "We're very encouraged. This was a deaawn reflecting the feelings of all the members of the jury ... 41e'g take the vietory, thank you." The othercotapanies involveA in the Lwsuit were RJ. Reynolds To= betto, a unit of RJR Nabisco Hold- ings; Atucian Tobsoeo. owned by BA.T. indastries; and Liggett Group of Brooke Group. In the Ftotida case that went in favor af Grady Cartes on Aug. 9, lawyera were able to introduce b: bao- c~company doatments linking nico- tiae and addidion, but thee records ~ were barred from the Rogers ase because it was a retrial, and thejudge limited evidence to that introcraced the 6rst tlme. The earlier trial ended with a adauial when the iury couldn't decide if Rogem amaked voluntarily. Befare the Fiotida cae, which is being appealed. the only other dun- age award returned against wbecco makers, b100.00Q to the fanYity nf Rose Cipollotte af New Jersey ,in 1988, was ovettutned on appsal. ' PL$ASI: SHH Tobacco lYit ON A 7