The state's high court heard an appeal Tuesday on behalf of sick Florida smokers seeking to punish the tobacco industry for "fraud and deceit" by restoring a $145 billion class-action award, the largest ever by an American jury. The smokers' lawyers told the Florida Supreme Court that it should reduce the amount if the justices think it is too large, as long as they also reverse an appellate court decision that overturned the 2000 Miami verdict and punitive judgment. ...

A tobacco industry lawyer accused a witness for the U.S. government of plagiarism on Thursday, trying to undermine his testimony that tobacco smoke causes illness and developmental problems in young children. ...

The former head of a tobacco-funded indoor air research organization was confronted with allegations that the group concealed its connection to cigarette makers, as he testified in the government's $280 billion conspiracy suit against the industry on Monday. Under questioning from a government lawyer and the judge hearing the case, the director of the now-defunct Center for Indoor Air Research (CIAR) tried to explain documents in which the tobacco industry's control was downplayed or omitted. ...

The election of a new judge to the state Supreme Court adds another element of uncertainty to a widely watched lawsuit that weighs heavily on the future of Altria Group Inc., the world's largest tobacco company. The high court will hear oral arguments Wednesday on the company's attempt to overturn a $10.1 billion verdict last year that concluded it misled smokers by suggesting that "light" cigarettes were safer than regular varieties. ...

In a victory for health advocates, a Superior Court judge in Hartford has thrown out a lawsuit that sought to overturn the state's new smoking ban in bars and restaurants. After the ban took effect in bars in April, four bar owners in southeastern Connecticut filed the suit because they said they were losing massive amounts of business to the Indian-run casinos and private clubs, which allow smoking. The owners said the state's new law was unconstitutional because it exempts private clubs and the casinos - putting the bar owners at a competitive disadvantage. ...

Lawyers squared off Wednesday over whether the Illinois Supreme Court should overturn the largest verdict for damages in the state's history: a $10.1 billion judgment against tobacco giant Philip Morris Inc. over the marketing of Marlboro Light cigarettes. ...

Secondhand smoke can cause cancer. It's what the surgeon general says. So too the Environmental Protection Agency. And the World Health Organization. To the tobacco industry, however, the link is not clear. This dispute is a crucial issue in the government's trial against the nation's largest tobacco companies. The $280 billion sought is the most ever in a civil racketeering case. ...

The law firm that caused a nationwide stir with a class action suit against cigarette maker Philip Morris is again taking the corporate giant to court, this time claiming an individual client suffered lung cancer. ...

The world's largest package delivery company is leading a legal fight against a Maine law designed to prevent mail-order tobacco sales to underage buyers. In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Portland, UPS and other members of regional motor transport associations challenged Maine's year-old law that requires people delivering tobacco products to make sure each named buyer signs for the package and can prove he or she is 18 or older. ...

A former Philip Morris USA scientist plans to testify that the tobacco giant failed to tell smokers that a change to Merit cigarettes four years ago caused chunks of burning ash to fall off, presenting a potential safety hazard. ...