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• Altria's Philip Morris Wins Jury Verdict in N.Y. Smoker's Death 

Philip Morris USA, a unit of Altria Group Inc., isn't responsible for the death of a long-time smoker of Marlboro Lights cigarettes, a New York jury said.

The jury in Queens, New York, deliberated less than a day before rejecting a claim by Peter Inzerilla, who sued the world's largest tobacco company over his wife Roseanne's death from lung cancer in 1994. She smoked Marlboro and Marlboro Lights.

Earlier this month, Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings Inc. prevailed in the case of a California man with cancer, in a turnabout in a state where the tobacco industry had lost previous cases. In October, Philip Morris lost a $28 billion jury verdict in Los Angeles, the largest ever in a suit by an individual smoker, and was ordered to pay $3 billion by a Los Angeles jury in June 2001. Both awards were reduced.

In the New York case, Philip Morris claimed that Mrs. Inzerilla was aware of smoking's risks. . .

Stuart Finz, an attorney for Inzerilla, said he hasn't decided on an appeal. He said he also has other suits pending against the tobacco industry.

``I'm committed to the issue,'' Finz said. ``There has been fraudulent activity and we will do everything possible to bring the truth to the American people.''

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• Philip Morris wins another smoke suit 

Chalk up another one for Philip Morris USA.

After the bell, the domestic tobacco unit of recently renamed Altria (MO: news, chart, profile) announced that a New York jury rebuffed the family of a dead smoker, finding in favor of the defendant and rejecting an appeal for millions of dollars in damages.

After a monthlong trial, a Queens Supreme Court panel found that Altria was not liable for the 1994 death of 48-year-old Roseanne Inzerilla. Her husband, Peter, had been looking for more than $1.5 million in compensatory damages, plus punitive damages.

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• Altria Gets Favorable Ruling From NY Jury 

Altria Corp.'s Philip Morris USA unit wasn't responsible for the death of a 48-year-old woman who died of lung cancer, a New York state court jury determined.

Philip Morris USA, maker of such brands as Marlboro, Parliament and Virginia Slims, said in a brief statement Thursday that the suit had sought more than $ 1.5 million in compensatory damages, plus punitive damages. Peter Inzerilla brought the suit following the 1994 death of his wife, Roseanne.

Inzerilla's lawyer wasn't immediately available to comment on the jury's decision.

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• New York Jury Says Cigarette Maker Not Culpable 

A New York jury ruled on Thursday in favor of Philip Morris USA Inc., saying the cigarette maker was not responsible for the death of a woman who smoked.

Peter Inzerilla had asked the state supreme court jury to award more than $1.5 million in compensatory damages, plus punitive damages, for the death of his 48-year-old wife, Roseanne, in 1994.

"We are sympathetic for the family of Mrs. Inzerilla. However, this jury reached a correct verdict based on the law and the facts presented in this case," said William Ohlemeyer, vice president and associate general counsel for Philip Morris USA, a unit of Altria Group Inc. .

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• Man: Cig Company Killed My Wife 

The husband of a 48-year-old waitress who died of lung cancer after a lifetime of smoking cigarettes testified Friday that a tobacco company is responsible for her death.

"I feel that Philip Morris took away the love of my life, the mother of my children," Peter Inzerilla told a Queens jury when his attorney, Stuart Finz, asked why he had filed a lawsuit after Roseanne Inzerilla's death in 1994.

"I wanted to get the information out so everyone else would know the truth," Inzerilla, of Glendale, said in State Supreme Court in Jamaica.

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• Suit in City Smoker's Death 

A Queens jury is being asked to decide if a 48-year-old waitress - who went from smoking two cigarettes a day as a teenager to two packs a day as an adult - died of lung cancer because she was addicted, or simply enjoyed her habit too much to quit.

Philip Morris, the company that made the cigarettes that Roseanne Inzerilla smoked, should be liable for her death in 1994, her family's attorney said in his opening statement yesterday in State Supreme Court in Jamaica. . .

The Inzerilla case is one of five tobacco lawsuits now before juries nationwide, the most ever at the same time, said Edward Sweda

Inzerilla, of Glendale, succumbed to a product the tobacco company manufacturer knew was addictive and dangerous, even as it engaged in a "public relations scheme" to reassure smokers, said the attorney, Stuart Finz.

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