Philip Morris will pay the rest of punitive damage award to Oregon

PORTLAND, Ore. – Cigarette maker Philip Morris USA Inc. says it will pay the rest of the punitive damage award, plus interest, it owes the state of Oregon, the state attorney general's office announced Tuesday.

Early last month, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled the company must pay the state 60 percent of a $79.5 million lawsuit from 1999. Attorneys for Philip Morris asked the Oregon Supreme Court to reconsider that decision but the court rejected their request last Friday. An attorney for the company then told the state today that the company will pay.

The family of Jesse Williams, a janitor from Portland, sued after Williams died of lung cancer two years earlier. He was a cigarette smoker.

Philip Morris appealed the jury award for a decade but finally paid the family its share but argued that it shouldn't have to pay the state. Under Oregon law, 60 percent of punitive damage awards go to the Oregon Department of Crime Victims’ Compensation Fund.

A spokesman for Oregon's attorney general said in a statement the fund will receive $56 million.

"This was a historic win for the Department of Justice and for Oregon," said Attorney General John Kroger in a statement.

According to the AG's office, some of the money will be used for programs that help crime victims but most of it can be used for the budget deficit.