Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Warren Ettinger reduced the largest punitive damages award ever granted in an individual smoking case, from $28 billion to $28 million. Judge Ettinger ruled the original award was excessive because it was 33,000 times greater than the $850,000 in compensatory damages in the case. The ruling reducing the award was expected, previous record for an individual smoking case was reduced from $3 billion to $100 million.

A jury awarded the $28 billion to lifelong smoker Betty Bullock in October, after hearing evidence that Philip Morris had known smoking was addictive and caused lung cancer for 50 years.

(via The Recorder)