Court TV telecasts highlights of tobacco liability trial.NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--August 19, 1996--Court TV will provide highlights of the trial, Carter v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company, Wednesday, August 21 - Friday, August 23 from 5pm - 7pm ET. In a landmark decision A landmark decision is the outcome of a legal case (often thus referred to as a landmark case) that establishes a precedent that either substantially changes the interpretation of the law or that simply establishes new case law on a particular issue. , a jury found that cigarettes are unreasonably dangerous and that the tobacco company did not adequately warn consumers about the risk. The jury awarded Grady Carter $500,000 and his wife $250,000. If upheld on appeal, this would be the first time a tobacco company ever paid damages in a tobacco liability case. Grady Carter, a 65-year-old former air-traffic controller air-traffic controller air n → aiguilleur m du ciel air-traffic controller air n → Fluglotse m who smoked cigarettes until he became ill in 1991 (he was later diagnosed with lung cancer lung cancer, cancer that originates in the tissues of the lungs. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States in both men and women. Like other cancers, lung cancer occurs after repeated insults to the genetic material of the cell. ), sued the Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company. He contended that B&W (which owns American Tobacco Co., the maker of Lucky Strike, the brand he smoked for many years) was negligent because the company understood the health hazards and addictiveness of smoking but failed to warn the public. Carter also contended that B&W was liable for damages because the company allegedly knew that the cigarettes were unreasonably dangerous and defective but failed to develop a safer design. This was the first case in which the infamous internal B&W documents were presented to a jury. The defendant claimed that Carter could not prove that the tobacco company was the proximate cause An act from which an injury results as a natural, direct, uninterrupted consequence and without which the injury would not have occurred. Proximate cause is the primary cause of an injury. of his illness, because Carter was aware of the risk of smoking, yet continued to smoke. The company disputed that cigarettes were addictive and that Carter was addicted. The defendant also refuted the defective design claim, maintaining that there was no alternative design for making cigarettes. Court TV will re-broadcast the highlights on Labor Day Labor Day, holiday celebrated in the United States and Canada on the first Monday in September to honor the laborer. It was inaugurated by the Knights of Labor in 1882 and made a national holiday by the U.S. Congress in 1894. , September 2, from 1:30pm - 7:30pm ET. Court TV's Law Center offers in-depth analysis and background information on the law, the legal system and cases covered by Court TV. The Law Center also offers practical tips on the law, listings of legal resources, court documents and transcripts, Court TV program guides and discussion groups which online users can use to talk to each other and to the staff at Court TV. A version of the Court TV Law Center also exists on America Online. Court TV, a cable television network dedicated to educating viewers about the judicial process, is distributed to 27 million households throughout the United States and its territories, in addition to wireless receivers. Viewer information number: 1-800-COURT56. Court TV Law Center on World Wide Web: http://www.courttv.com. The service is a joint venture of American Lawyer Media ALM (formerly American Lawyer Media), is a leading integrated media company, focused on the legal and real estate communities. ALM owns and publishes 33 national and regional magazines and newspapers focused on the legal and real estate communities, including , L.P., Time Warner Inc. (TWX (TeletypeWriter eXchange Service) A U.S. and Canadian dial-up communications service that became part of Telex. In 1971, the Bell System sold TWX to Western Union. TWX transmitted 5-bit Murray code or 7-bit ASCII code at up to 150 bps. See Telex. ), NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. (GE) and Tele-Communications, Inc. (TCOMA). CONTACT: Lynn Rosenstrach, Court TV, (212) 973-6784 or Lloyd Trufelman, Trylon Communications, (212) 818-9151 |
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