Tobacco.org

• Brooklyn Tobacco Trial Delayed as Appeals Court Reviews Rulings 

Opening statements, scheduled to begin today in a New York state court in Brooklyn, were postponed so an appellate court can review a judge's rejections of motions for summary judgment in the case.

Judge Herbert Kramer, who sent the jurors home until Oct. 2, also threw out several of the Davis family's claims against Philip Morris, including allegations that implied and express warranties were breached, said company spokesman Michael York. Kramer didn't dismiss those charges against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings Inc., York said. . .

Davis was 50 when he died in 1996. Lawyers for his family say the tobacco companies are liable because they committed fraud and designed a faulty product.

Cigarette makers claim the illnesses could have been caused by something other than cigarettes and that Davis was aware of the health risks of smoking.

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