Tobacco Companies Lose Rare Lawsuit

In a case that could prompt a resurgence in lawsuits against the tobacco industry, a jury awarded $2 million to a man who claimed he got cancer from asbestos in cigarette filters.

While California law protects manufacturers against lawsuits for tobacco-related illness or death, 70-year-old Milton Horowitz’s lawyers argued that smoking wasn’t the issue.

The American Cancer Society said it was only the second time a tobacco company lost a lawsuit over use of its products. A federal judge threw out the verdict in the first case, filed in 1983 in New Jersey.