Richard Boeken

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This article is part of the Tobacco portal on Sourcewatch funded from 2006 - 2009 by the American Legacy Foundation.

Richard Boeken was the Plaintiff in the legal case of Boeken v. Philip Morris

Case background

Richard Boeken was a self-employed securities broker in Topanga, California who began smoking at 13 years of age. He subsequently smoked 2 packs of Marlboro cigarettes each day for the next 40 years and by age 56 became gravely ill with cancer. He successfully quit smoking several times but resumed after each attempt to quit.

In the fall of 1999, Mr. Boeken received a medical diagnosis of lung cancer. The disease spread to his lymph nodes, back and brain. He said that he got hooked on cigarettes as a boy in the 1950s, before any warning labels appeared on the packs. Mr. Boeken sought compensatory damages of more than $12 million for medical bills, lost earnings and pain and suffering, as well as massive punitive damages. His attorney, Michael Piuze, sought between $100 million and $10 billion for punitive damages.

Mr. Boeken asserted 5 causes of action in his complaint: 1) negligence; 2) strict liability; 3) deceit/fraudulent concealment; 4) false representation and 5) breach of express warranty. Additionally, he alleged a conspiracy claim. [[ Philip Morris denied all the claims and contended that the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act]] preempted Mr. Boeken's claims, in whole or in part. Philip Morris also claimed that Boeken had long been aware of the potential health risks of smoking, which were common knowledge throughout the community before he started smoking in 1957. The trial took place in the Central Civil West Division of Superior Court, near downtown Los Angeles.

Philip Morris is represented by Maurice A. Leiter and John L. Carlton of Arnold & Porter in Los Angeles. The trial judge is the Hon. Charles W. McCoy, who is a member of the Superior Court’s complex case panel.

The jury consisted of 12 jurors and 6 alternates. 9 of the 12 jurors were required to agree on the verdict. Opening statements were heard on April 2, 2001. Witnesses included Sir Richard Doll (who established the link between smoking and lung cancer more than 50 years ago), Dr. William Farone (former director of applied research for Philip Morris), Dr. Paul Mele (former behavioral pharmacologist with Philip Morris), and Ellen Merlo, who, at the time of the trial, was still serving as senior Vice President of Philip Morris Corporate Affairs Department. The jury began deliberating on May 22, but had to restart on the 24th when an alternate juror replaced a juror who was dismissed.

Although his lung cancer was terminal, Mr. Boeken was alive at the time of the trial.

Michael Piuze was assisted by paralegal Ray Goldstein, whose expertise is in tobacco industry documents.

Outcome

The jury found Philip Morris liable for Mr. Boeken's lung cancer and awarded Mr. Boeken $5.54 million in compensatory damages and $3 billion in punitive damages. It was the biggest verdict to date in an individual personal injury tobacco case. The verdict represented the 7th defeat for the tobacco industry over the last 23 jury verdicts on individual personal injury claims dating back to February of 1999.

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