Suit nets $13.8M

A jury has awarded Jodie Bullock of Newport Beach $13.8 million in punitive damages in her lawsuit against cigarette maker Philip Morris USA, six years after her mother, Betty Bullock, died of lung cancer.

The jury in Los Angeles Superior Court ruled 9 to 3 Monday.

Betty started smoking at age 17.

She sued the cigarette giant in 2001 for fraud and was initially awarded $28 billion in damages in 2002.

That ruling was reduced by a judge to $28 million before being reversed and sent to the 2nd District Court of Appeals in 2008 for a new trial.

Betty died in 2003 and Jodie took over the lawsuit.

Throughout the trial, Philip Morris reportedly denied that it should have to pay damages, saying the risks of smoking were well known.

The Associated Press reported that the jury was conflicted on what to award the plaintiff, with some members saying she deserved nothing and others saying the tobacco company should have faced a much stiffer fine.

Attempts to reach Bullock for comment were unsuccessful.