By AP/KWMU
Chicago, IL – Cigarette-maker Philip Morris USA got a
victory today in its fight against a record $10 billion verdict in a class-action lawsuit.
A Cook County judge issued a ten-day temporary restraining order stopping the state from collecting its share of the judgment until a full hearing is held.
The state was to receive $3.6 billion from last month's $10 billion verdict in a Madison County lawsuit.
The judge says because Illinois signed onto the national tobacco settlement in 1998, it isn't entitled to more damages from the cigarette-maker.
Philip Morris is asking a judge in Madison County to lower a $12 billion bond it was ordered to pay before appealing last month's verdict.