CHICAGO -- Kraft Foods faces enormous uncertainties and, in the short run, higher costs of doing business because of its ties to cigarette maker Philip Morris USA, according to a report in the Chicago Sun-Times.
As reported previously in CSP Daily News, a judge in Downstate Madison County ruled that Philip Morris deceptively marketed its Marlboro Lights and Cambridge Lights brands, duping smokers into believing the light brands were less harmful than regular brands.
In the ruling, Judge Nicolas Byron ordered Philip Morris to pay $10.1 billion in damages and to put up a $12 billion bond in the next 30 days in order to appeal. The case was historic for two reasons: The lawsuit was the first in the United States to accuse a tobacco company of consumer fraud, and the verdict was the largest in Illinois history.
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