After three-and-a-half weeks, the Bethel Superior Court trial over whether or not tobacco company Philip Morris misled a Pilot Station man about the harmful effects of smoking has ended in a hung jury.
Jury foreman Robert Sundown said jurors deadlocked 8-4 on continuing deliberations.
“We tried a dozen different occasions, asked a dozen different ways, encouraged each other to speak their minds, encouraged each other to come to a consensus based on their peers’ thought process, and they were unable to be swayed,” he said.
Eight jurors needed more testimony on why Benjamin Frances chose to smoke Marlboro Lights cigarettes before they could reach a decision, Sundown said.
In 2004, Francis died of lung cancer at age 52 after a long history of cigarette smoking, Marlboro Lights being his long-time favorite. Francis’ common law wife, Dolores Hunter of Marshall, and her two children are suing Philip Morris USA and its parent company Altria Group for product liability, fraud, and the wrongful death of Francis.
Sundown said he was one of the jurors who wanted to continue deliberations and was disappointed that they couldn’t reach a verdict after almost a month spent in trial.
“You feel for the parties involved, both for Ms. Hunter and Philip Morris in terms of the time and effort and energy they all expended into this case,” he said. “And you can see that in both attorneys and their passion for arguing in the case, but in the end you have to come to some sort of message. In answering those questions, you have to be able to answer the questions honestly, and we just weren’t there.”
Don Bauermeister of Washington represented the Francis estate, and said he has a week to file for a retrial based on Hunter’s decision. He said cases like this are important for the public scrutiny they bring to tobacco practices.
“Whether the discussion is good or bad,” Bauermeister said, “they generate discussion about the dangers of tobacco, the misinformation that’s been shared about tobacco, and the need for people to rethink how dangerous tobacco is and what they’ve been told. Because for many years they were not told the truth.”
A 2014 Surgeon General report says that litigation against tobacco companies has been a proven tool for advancing tobacco control and reducing disease and death caused by tobacco products.
Defense attorney Stan Davis of Kansas did not respond to a request for comment as he exited the courtroom.
This was the second time this case has gone to trial.
The initial trial occurred in 2011.
The company was found not liable, but the ruling was reversed by a higher court.
